


Light The Fuse

by TelephoneCableSplicer



Series: Swift Affection [1]
Category: Winner (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Cameos, Coming Out, Fluff, M/M, Mild Sexual Content, Minor Angst, namsong - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-30
Updated: 2017-03-17
Packaged: 2018-09-03 08:45:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 44,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8705593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TelephoneCableSplicer/pseuds/TelephoneCableSplicer
Summary: For Nam Taehyun;Kang Seungyoon was his first crush,but Song Mino was his first boyfriend.
*Russian translation is available at Ficbook, by the wonderful sobaken3





	1. Transaction

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> High-school AU for Namsong <3

 

 

 

The brunet was squinting his eyes again, it had become a habit by now. He knew it was not from the glaring sun. He knew it was not from the gust of wind, or even from the annoyingly loud beeping noise the traffic light was making; irritating him while being agonizingly helpful by telling people to _please safely cross the road now while it is safe, thank you very much._

 

Taehyun was standing at an intersection in front of their high school, watching the two people in front of him walking hand in hand, crossing the street together. The setting sun gave a warm, romantic ambiance as a backdrop for the couple, turning the scene into looking like a freaking high-budget perfume commercial in his mind. Taehyun's back was fried from the hot evening sun, he stood there sweating buckets and generally feeling uncomfortable from the sweltering heat. He wanted nothing more than to blend in with the busy high school crowd that was well on their way back home and hide from the couple. His eye twitched, he purposely squinted them because he simply cannot stand the sight of what was in front of him.

 

These two people, this perfect couple; the man every girl wants a stable relationship with, that would last even after high school. The girl every man wishes to date and shows off to their peers. His best friend, Kang Seungyoon and the boy's girlfriend, Kang Seulgi.

 

"Taehyun-ah, you're still here?" Seungyoon called out. The tall boy stopped right in front of him, looking so put together in their dark, stuffy school uniform.

 

"Yeah, just finished my club activities. I'm heading back now. You?" Taehyun asked. He hoped Seungyoon would join him like he usually did back when there was just the two of them.

 

"Oh, no, not me. I'm not going back yet. We still have a few tasks to do before tomorrow's student council meeting. There're still a lot of reports to write on those troublesome students ya know. I swear to god, it's never ending," he ranted a bit but was smiling nonetheless.

 

Kang Seulgi laughed sweetly at his boyfriend's short blurt. She beckoned Seungyoon closer and whispered a few things in his ear, her delicate hand covered her soft words near his friend's ear. She then excused herself, bowing politely a little to Taehyun and walked towards the school entrance. Seungyoon's eyes were glued to the girl, his lips forming a pleasant smile of his own. It pained Taehyun to agree with the rest of the school that just by standing side by side, those two made a perfect couple.

 

"You're going to be late today too? It's been awhile since we walked home together. Am I still your best friend? Even if you do have a pretty girlfriend now," Taehyun said, eyeing Seulgi from afar. He was being bitter, he knew but he could not hide his disappointment at not being able to spend time with Seungyoon as often anymore.

 

"Yeah, I'm sorry we haven't been hanging out lately. There's just too much on my plate now. I knew being a prefect is tough but some of these students, they sure give you your run for the money," Seungyoon said with a sigh.

 

"Are they giving you so much trouble? Who are they? Shouldn't you let the teachers deal with them instead?" Taehyun asked, worried a little from Seungyoon's blatant tiredness.

 

"Same people, Song Mino-shi, Pyo Jihoon-shi, Wang Jackson-shi, some others. I mean they're not bad, they're just kind of a handful. I'm paying too much attention to them, aren't I? So much so 'til I kept neglecting my own best friend," Seungyoon said, fixing his rounded reading glasses on the bridge of his nose, looking sad and troubled.

 

Taehyun felt bad. He did not mean to make Seungyoon feel guilty. He knew better than anyone that Seungyoon had never neglected him, had always sought him out whenever he could to study together or simply talk to catch up on one another. Seungyoon was great at what he does, he was carrying out his responsibility very well. So well in fact that people kept on depending on him until he had not gotten any free time for himself. It was not Seungyoon's fault that he would rather spend his already limited hours with his girlfriend instead of his best friend. It was logical, it was expected, but Taehyun could not give up. He could never let go of his attachment towards his friend. But he knew when to back off when he needed to.

 

"Well, I'm going back first then. You're doing great Seungyoon-ah. And don't worry about me. I'll see around, I guess," Taehyun said, crossing the road when the light turned green again.

 

"Be careful on your way back, Taehyunie!" Seungyoon called out.

 

Kang Seungyoon's nickname for him irritated him. He kept walking, his eyes narrowed, his mood dropped, his heart bleed.

 

* * *

 

 

He and Kang Seungyoon had been friends for years. They first met when Taehyun moved to Seoul during middle school with his mother, grandmother and younger brother. The lady next door came over with her son, gave them a bowl of fresh cut fruits as a welcoming gift. Surprisingly, Seungyoon was the same age as him. And with that, they went to the same school. He introduced Taehyun to his friends, he came over every night to help Taehyun catch up with missed schoolwork, he accompanied Taehyun during recess, he stood up for Taehyun when Taehyun was being bullied for being unfriendly, he shared his umbrella when it was raining coming back home from school. Seungyoon helped Taehyun a lot in the earlier days and had always been with him until now.

 

Seungyoon said he was happy that Taehyun was his friend. He said that Taehyun was amazing at art class, he told him that his middle-parted hair was neat, that laying down on Taehyun's soft bed when they were just hanging out reading manhwas was his most favorite past time, and that he especially admires Taehyun's singing voice. Taehyun had no doubt that Seungyoon was utterly amazing for wanting to be his friend when everyone else did not even bother. And so, to repay his kindness, Taehyun dedicated his time on learning to play the guitar from Seungyoon himself because that was what Seungyoon liked the most.

 

Some days they would hang out at the library until late at night. Other days they would walk around town to visit music shops or watch some street performances while sharing a bowl of _ddeokbokki_ paid from both their small allowances. Most days Seungyoon's laughter was beautiful. Most of the time Taehyun wished they could stay close together forever.

 

Growing up with Seungyoon was easy. He was smart, he was talented, he was nice, he was considerate, he was adorable, he was tolerant, he was a lot more than what Taehyun could ever hope to be. And Taehyun wants that, Taehyun wants him. Growing up with Seungyoon was easy, falling in love with him was even more so.

 

And it was no surprised that Taehyun's first crush was Kang Seungyoon.

 

* * *

 

 

Nam Taehyun was known to be cold and distant since middle school, he did not change much during high school. Seungyoon was adored by others during middle school and had gotten even more popular during high school. But even while Seungyoon was busy holding on to many new titles such as the class monitor, the student council committee member, or some other last minute responsibilities being shoved his way; he would always made time to stay by Taehyun's side.

 

New school, new uniforms, new faces. And with new friends came new admirers. Seungyoon never had a shortage of those. In fact, his locker was always filled with love letters; Taehyun would occasionally get a few of his own too. But unlike Taehyun who ignored all of them, Seungyoon would make an effort to meet those people and politely decline them. Sometimes he would even offer the girls tissues and consoled them until their crying stopped. Taehyun would witness these scenes from afar, he always stayed back to wait for Seungyoon during those times. He always stayed back and waited for Seungyoon to reject all those confessions, and selfishly hoped for Seungyoon to notice him instead.

 

But Nam Taehyun was a coward. He was afraid of the outcome of him confessing to his best friend. If Seungyoon was ok with it, they would date probably. Most likely in secret, being a same-sex couple was still frowned upon in their society. But Taehyun knew that even in secrecy, he would undoubtedly be the happiest person in the world if it ever came true. But if Seungyoon rejected him instead, he would not only lose his crush, he would also lose his best friend, and that thought scared him the most.

 

So Taehyun continued being Seungyoon's closest buddy while also kept hoping for something to happen, hoping that fate would lend a hand by throwing something that would help change the course of their relationship. Hoping for a little miracle.

 

And something did happen, it was during their second year of high school. Seungyoon was confessed to by his fellow classmate, the Student Council Treasurer; Kang Seulgi. It was as much as a surprise to everyone as it was to Taehyun when Seungyoon accepted the confession. He confronted Seungyoon after school and demanded an answer from him. Seungyoon said that he had been harboring feelings for the girl for more than a year. He was happy that Seulgi felt the same way but he was stunned by Taehyun's harsh reaction. He thought that Taehyun would be happy for him, that he would at least congratulate him.

 

"What about _us_? She's going to take you away from me!" Taehyun had said. He could not bring himself to hinted more than that to Seungyoon about his feelings for him. He was afraid to confess, but he was also afraid of Seungyoon's new relationship.

 

"What do you mean, what about us? We'll hang out, I will still go to your house to shoot zombies together. I'm not some kind of a jerk that'll forget about you even if I have a girlfriend now," Seungyoon said, grabbing Taehyun's shoulders as if to reassured him.

 

"We're still friends, Taehyun-ah. You're my best friend forever," Seungyoon said, pounding the last nail on Taehyun's coffin.

 

 _Best friend, huh..._ Taehyun thought to himself. Because even after all those years, not even an iota of Taehyun's true feelings had reached Seungyoon. Rather than the impending new relationship, that bitter actualization crushed Taehyun's heart more.

 

* * *

 

 

Song Mino was an anomaly in Taehyun's life. He did not expect that they would end up being a couple, but Song Mino was his first boyfriend.

 

He first met Song Mino when he and Seungyoon entered high school together. Mino was loud, he was boisterous, he was friendly, he hanged out with people that Taehyun could never imagine being friends with. Mino was a year older but they were in the same grade year, the same class. They were in the same art club too, they talked once or twice but Taehyun was uncomfortable with Mino's _type of person,_ per say. He was an inch taller from Taehyun, which was saying something because Taehyun was already very tall in the first place. Mino's idle face was harsh, fazing the younger man a little; unlike Seungyoon's who looked adorably dumb most of the time. Mino's voice was deep and growly, grating on his ears, unlike Seungyoon's melodic tone. Mino's skin was tanned instead of soft brown like Seungyoon's. Mino owned a buzz cut head like a typical delinquent, unlike Seungyoon's shaggy and stylish mane.

 

All in all, Song Mino is too different from what Taehyun was used to. Taehyun had heard stories about him, about how they were in the same class because Mino was held back a year for getting into a bloody fight with another student over some girl. He heard that Mino befriended a lot of rowdy college students, many years older than him. His buddy was called P.O, another troublemaker that he would team up with and wreaked havoc around the school together. He was also always in a relationship with girls from different classes, on and off. People said that Mino was easy, that he would date anyone if you would just ask. Taehyun could only equate the word shameless and obnoxious with Song Mino.

 

* * *

 

 

One day after school, it was raining heavily and as usual, Taehyun did not bring an umbrella. He never did, he had always share it with Seungyoon. It was their _thing_.

 

He felt a hand tapped his shoulder from behind and turned around. Seungyoon was holding their usual umbrella with a smile on his face.

 

"You didn't bring an umbrella, did you? I left a message on your phone yesterday about today's weather," Seungyoon said, holding a folded black umbrella with one hand while adjusting his adorably nerdy glasses with the other.

 

"Why should I? You're always prepared for us, that's why I keep you around," Taehyun said, grinning and hitching up his bag higher. "Ready to go?"

 

Seungyoon was about to respond when they heard a soft voice called out to the prefect.

 

"Thanks for waiting, Yoon-ah. I'm all set, let's go," Seulgi said, the girl came and stood next to him. Taehyun hated the fact that she looked as composed as ever, not a single hair in disarray even after grueling school hours.

 

"Yeah, let's go. Here you go Taehyun-ah, don't get sick okay? I'll see you later," Seungyoon said while handing the umbrella for Taehyun to grab.

 

Seungyoon had then reached out his hand and opened an umbrella from Seulgi, it was in a pretty maroon shade with pink flower petals motifs. They both stepped outside the school building, hand in hand, sharing an umbrella like the perfect couple they were. Taehyun squinted his eyes as he watched them go silently, a seething anger and jealousy slowly surfacing inside him. When they were out of sight, he simply dropped Seungyoon's umbrella inside the student designated umbrella case near the school entrance without a second thought and walked out into the cold rain.

 

To him, that umbrella's purposed was to bring him and Seungyoon closer but it seemed like a moot point now. The rain helped cooled down his anger and irritation. Being drenched was better than being angry towards Seungyoon, never Seungyoon.

 

He took a turn to use the back entrance instead just so he could avoid any chances of accidentally bumping into Seungyoon on his way back. He was almost near the gate when he heard someone heaved a loud sob. Startled, the brunet stepped out cautiously and saw Song Mino; crouched down behind the school wall, crying his heart out.

 

Taehyun was stupefied at what he was seeing. The ever-carefree Song Mino was wailing so hard it was as if he was physically in pain. The older boy's body shook badly and his coarse sobs seemed hysterical even when being muffled by the loud rain. Taehyun stood still under the pelting torrent, he would never have imagined that someone as cheerful as Song Mino could cry that hard. Mino looked like he was trying hard to stop his cries. He wiped at his face a few times, coughing and hiccupping hard before he forced himself to calm down and took few huge deep breaths; only to look up and saw Taehyun standing just a few steps away from him.

 

The look of pure shock and mortification on his face was both comical and unsettling; like it does not belong there, on someone so carefree. Taehyun could not have thought that Mino was capable of such crushing facial expressions, it was a first for him.

 

"Go away," he heard Mino said roughly.

 

"What?" Taehyun replied. Pity quickly turned into feeling ticked off at being told what to do.

 

"I said go away, leave me alone," Mino said louder, crouched down and hiding his face behind his arms.

 

"Why are you crying? And very loudly too, aren't you going to feel embarrassed if someone catches you?" Taehyun asked curiously, tapping his feet on the side of a wet gutter while ignoring Mino's request.

 

"For fuck's sake Nam Taehyun, leave me the god damn alone!" Mino shouted.

 

Taehyun eye twitched. He does not appreciate being yelled at when he was trying to be nice, even if the way he showed it was questionable. Also, Taehyun owned a streak of small defiance in him. When someone told him to not do something he should not, he would do it just to show that he could. For example, this particular moment right now.

 

Taehyun walked up to Mino and crouched down beside him, making himself comfortable in the rain beside the weeping, older boy, "You're crying."

 

"Great observation skill. What, you want a star? A medal? I said go away," Mino said bitterly in between hiccups, his red eyes were glaring daggers.

 

"You look really ugly right now, and stupid. So, you'd better stop. You're spoiling my view," Taehyun said. He pulled out his handkerchief from inside his blazer pocket, it was a bit damped from the rain but it would do. He brought it up to Mino's face and started to wipe it harshly.

 

"Ow, that hurts! Stop it!" Mino yelled. He grabbed Taehyun's hand to stop him. "What the hell are you doing?"

 

"I told you, you look ugly. Wipe your pitiful, sorry face," Taehyun said unperturbed, bringing his hand forward again to continue what he had been doing. He was stopped a second time and his handkerchief was taken away. Mino clicked his tongue at Taehyun in annoyance.

 

"Alright, fine! I'll clean myself up. Sorry for being such an ugly sight in front of the stuck up, pretty boy," Mino said, wiping his face and blowing his nose a few times. He held the soiled cloth back to Taehyun who looked at him and the snotty handkerchief in a deadpanned.

 

"What did you call me?" Taehyun agrees that he was pretty, but he was not a stuck up in his humble opinion.

 

"You heard me," Mino said.

 

"Why were you crying?" Taehyun asked, letting the remark go just this once.

 

Mino heaved a heavy sigh, his shoulders dropped, "I broke up with my girlfriend."

 

"So you got dumped. You'd always get dumped. Why are you crying like this is something different?" Taehyun asked again.

 

"Holy shit Nam, do you even listen to yourself? What the hell, man? It's no wonder you don't have any friends. I wasn't _always dumped_ ," Mino replied with an air-quote. "Most of the time we parted on good terms," he said while blowing his nose noisily again on Taehyun's ruined handkerchief. His face morphed into irritation from both the conversation and the heavy rain.

 

"Okay, then why are you hiding and crying so hard? Is this girl extra special? Did you liked her 20% more than the rest?" Taehyun asked some more.

 

Mino looked miffed, Taehyun could see that the other boy was judging him harshly, "Do you not own a brain to mouth filter? You should really think before saying stuff if you don't want to get punched in the face."

 

"What, did I offend you? _You?_ The troublemaker? Seriously, you were held back a year for public violence, you are not serious in studies and disturbed everyone in the classroom, you change partners often as if they're just flavor of the month. Pardon me if I don't think highly of you, Song Mino," Taehyun replied, glaring back at Mino's judging tone.

 

Mino blinked a few times before he spoke, "Wow, I didn't think I would look like such a jerk to some people. I guess for someone who barely knows me, I do seem like a dumb, horny asshole."

 

"Oh, so you're not some dumb, horny asshole then?" Taehyun replied unamused.

 

"Watch it, Nam. I'm still older than you," Mino warned. "Why are you here anyway? Get going already."

 

"I can be wherever the hell I want to be, thank you very much," Taehyun replied coldly.

 

"Wait, you're probably waiting for that pompous prefect who kept giving me hell for no reason. That Park Seunghoon, your friend is as irritating as you are. Like two peas in a pod," Mino snorted.

 

"You're the one who's acting like a total menace, twenty-four hours a day at school. And his name is Kang Seungyoon, asshole," Taehyun replied fuming.

 

"Well then, why are you freaking here, annoying the hell out of me instead of going back with that star student what's-his-name-Kim Ilgoon-asshole was it?"

 

"Fuck you, it's Kang Seungyoon! Stop mocking him! And he has a girlfriend now," Taehyun replied. "I know when to back off when a friend wants to spend some time with his girl."

 

Mino laughed out loud at Taehyun's words, covering his mouth from the outburst, "So you're saying you were dumped too? And by your best friend no less," said Mino snickering.

 

"Shut up! I was not dumped! I'm not Seungyoon's lover! Not going back home together and breaking up are two totally different things!" Taehyun fumed.

 

"Oh really? So what are you doing all drenched and creeping away at the back entrance like an abandoned, sad little puppy then?" Mino ventured further, a small curt smile on his face. "Come on, Nam. Everyone knows you're somewhat overly attached to Kang. He's totally the apple of your eyes. You make it so obvious. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're totally in love with your own male best friend."

 

"Fuck you, Song Mino. You don't know me," Taehyun replied and hastily stood up. His new position made him feel a lot tougher than the squatting boy. "Stop making shit up. I am not in love with Seungyoon! You must be out of your god damn mind!" He yelled, fear was slowly starting to grip him. He did not know that his feelings were that obvious, and to the class's dumb brute no less.

 

Song Mino stood up too, his body was a tad bigger than Taehyun's and his voice was dangerously deep when he spoke, "And you think you know me so well, Nam Taehyun? Calling me names and making your own conclusions on my behaviors? Finding faults in me and for what? To make you feel better? To glorify your _boyfriend_? Make you feel more upstanding than the dumb delinquent?"

 

He slowly stalked forward and cornered Taehyun against the school wall.

 

"You are a delinquent. Don't pretend to be otherwise," Taehyun hissed back in anger. "You're annoying, you're loud, you're trouble everywhere you go! You give the student council so many problems and you don't even feel a bit apologetic to them! Stop being such a nuisance and give Seungyoon some slack! Look at your uniform, why can't you wear them properly like Seungyoon does? You dress like a freaking thug!" Taehyun burst out yelling and pushed Mino away.

 

Mino stumbled a few steps back from the slippery mud but he came back forward, slamming both of Taehyun's hands up against the wall between his head.

 

"Don't get cocky with me, Nam. Look at you getting riled up over Kang again. You're fucking in love with him, aren't you? You're fucking in love and you can't do anything so you're venting your frustrations on someone who is totally opposite of your perfect little best friend," the older boy said.

 

Taehyun struggled in Mino's tight grips, he hated how accurate Mino's accusations of him were. He just needed an outlet for his bitterness and disappointment, and Song Mino had unintentionally become the target of his building anger out of convenience.

 

He knew he was wrong for blowing up on some random classmate, but no one seemed to get his pain and he is fed up of it, "Let go of me, you slut."

 

Mino laughed lowly at Taehyun's angry yet frightened gaze, "Oh? I'm the slut? Why? For having gone through so many relationships? At least I gave everyone a fair chance. What about you, Nam? You think your love for Kang is pure? You're a homo and harboring feelings for him in secret, pretending to be his best friend behind his back. You are one, sly fucker."

 

"Fuck off, Song," Taehyun replied angrily but Mino just tightened his grips further, pinning his body flat against Taehyun, their faces were inches apart.

 

"You are a liar, you're a coward," Mino said lowly. "Isn't it such a pity for pure, kind, wonderful Kang fucking Seungyoon? To have someone as pretentious as you as his best friend," he said with a mocking smile. Taehyun's breathing was harsh, the rain was pounding on them and his vision was blurred.

 

"You want to be his boyfriend? You want him to love you? I bet you dream of him at night and use him to fuel your fuck fantasies. I bet you don't even love him. You only lust after boys who are closest to you, who are the most convenient. It's not like you have that much to choose from with your _unique_ taste, am I right?" Mino said sharply.

 

"Shut up! You know nothing!" Taehyun screamed to his face.

 

"Does he know? I bet he doesn't. It's so easy to end you, Nam. I could just tell the whole school about you and you're done," Mino whispered harshly. "You think you're all that? You are a coward, you're a disgusting homo, you're not even worthy to be Kang Seungyoon's _friend_ , Nam fucking Taehyun," Mino said in finality, staring hard into Taehyun's eyes, failing to hear how his words had managed to shatter the brunet's heart.

 

Taehyun's mind was in shambles. He was distraught by Mino's harsh but brutally accurate words. He knew that liking someone of the same gender was considered as a sickness in their society. He knew that just by being himself, he could tarnish his family and Seungyoon's face in their community. He knew that his difference could make him a target for bullies and he will be mocked for the rest of his life. He knew all of that, he buried his secret inside, hidden from everyone. He hoped he could pull through his life, okay at being different and alone. He hoped he would be fine, that maybe someday if it was not Seungyoon who would stand by him, then someone else will.

 

He had hoped that being different would not hurt so much. That loving his best friend would not hurt his heart. But Song fucking Mino. The bastard and his harsh, devastating words.

 

A tear fell from his eye, followed by another. The reality of it hurt so much, he ended up crying in front of the other student. Mino was shocked by Taehyun's tears, he loosened his grips for a bit.

 

"T-Taehyun, I'm-" before he could finish his words, Mino was pushed roughly away. Taehyun took off but he didn't get far when Mino grabbed his hand again. "Taehyun, wait!"

 

"Fuck off, bastard!" Taehyun cried and tried to pull his arm back.

 

"No! I'm sorry, Taehyun!" Mino shouted in a hurry but Taehyun just yelled and punched Mino's jaw. The other boy blinked a few times from the impact but that did not deter him at all. He clasped onto Taehyun's arm tighter. "I'm sorry! I was angry, I wasn't thinking when I said all that! I would never do all that, I would never tell anyone, I was just so angry! Please believe me, Taehyun! I'm sorry!"

 

"No! Let me go! I hate you! Fucking let me go!" Taehyun struggled ruthlessly to get away but he somehow ended up being engulfed in Mino's arms, the other boy was far stronger than he gave him credits for.

 

"I'm sorry! I'm such an asshole, Taehyun. I'm sorry I hurt you, please Taehyun," he apologized over and over, not letting Taehyun go no matter how hard the brunet struggled in his embrace.

 

"I hate you! Just die, Song Mino! I hate you, you fucker. I fucking... hate..," Taehyun could not go on any longer and slumped dejectedly. He cried listlessly in Mino's arms.

 

Mino slid down against the wall, bringing Taehyun with him while shushing him softly. He said sorry endlessly and tried to soothe Taehyun who was crying silently in his arms. The brunet's sobs was so low against his chest and it was utterly heartbreaking for Mino to learn that Taehyun was a silent weeper. He was a total jerk to Taehyun and his guilt was spiking high.

 

"I'm sorry, Taehyun. I shouldn't have said all that. I was just so angry at you, at everything and I'm- I'm an asshole. You have it hard all these while and I said all those fucking things and I'm sorry. I'm an insensitive asshole, I shouldn't have said all that. I'm sorry I hurt you," Mino said lowly, his hand rubbing circles against Taehyun's back to calm the tears down.

 

"Shut up, bastard," Taehyun replied, not caring that he was crushing Mino with his whole body. The punk deserved it, being a jerk and all that, Taehyun thought to himself.

 

"I really am sorry. Sometimes when I'm angry, I just do stupid things and I'm trying hard to fix that but I just-" Taehyun heard Mino sighed in frustration." I'll make it up to you, anything you want," Mino offered hastily.

 

"Shut up, leave me alone," Taehyun tried to get up but Mino tightened his arms further.

 

"No, I want to make it up to you. I hurt you, and I'm sorry. Until you'll forgive me, I will do anything to make it up to you, seriously Nam," Mino said in earnest.

 

"I said shut up. And give me my handkerchief back," Taehyun demanded, sniffing loudly.

 

Mino saw from the corner of his eyes that Taehyun's expensive looking hanky had fallen to its dirty demise from their intense struggle earlier, "Umm... Sorry Taehyun. It's uh, it fell and is currently in the gutter. You can use my blazer to wipe your snot. It's the least I could do."

 

"You're useless," Taehyun replied.

 

"I'll get you a new one, Nam. Like, a cooler one, with skulls and roses and thorns and shit," Mino heard a low what the fuck from the other boy. "Let me make it up to you, I'll get you a new one, Taehyun-ah. Anything else?" Mino asked in a light tone.

 

"Fucking grovel on the floor and apologize to me," Taehyun said angrily.

 

"I did! I still am!" Mino replied urgently.

 

"You're not grovelling!"

 

"I can't. You're sitting on my lap, Taehyun."

 

"Let me go then!"

 

"No, you'll run away, Nam."

 

Taehyun sighed heavily, "Can you not call me in different names. Just pick one and stick with it. You're giving me a headache, bastard," he said.

 

"Oh? Ah, okay. Sorry, Taehyun-ah," Mino replied seriously.

 

"Why are you getting too comfortable with me? You're using my own name without permission," Taehyun grumbled against his chest.

 

"Well, I've seen you cry. I know who you love, I made acquaintance with your right fist. I think we're close enough to be using our own names," Mino said light-heartedly, a small cheeky smile on his face. "By the way, that was a mean right hook you gave me. My jaw is going to be sore for days."

 

"Fuck you, you had it coming," Taehyun replied.

 

"I did, didn't I? Any other requests? I'm still sorry," Mino said, his hand had not stopped rubbing Taehyun's back even when the boy had stopped crying.

 

"I'll kill you if you tell the school about me, just fucking try," Taehyun said in a low growl.

 

"Dude, I would never! That was just me being stupid, I swear!"

 

"Buy me lunch, asshole."

 

"You betcha."

 

"My new handkerchief needs to be fucking silk."

 

"But yours wasn't-"

 

"Silk, bastard!"

 

"Okay, okay! Lay back on the name calling ya?"

 

"Stop being a nuisance in class."

 

"That's kinda hard but I'll try?"

 

"Wear your fucking uniform properly, fucker."

 

"Holy shit, Taehyun. You swear like a fucking sailor."

 

"Your uniform!"

 

"I'll wear em properly! Geez."

 

"And,..."

 

"...and?"

 

"Go out with me," Taehyun said after a paused.

 

Mino stopped his rubbing and grabbed both Taehyun's shoulder, pushing him away at an arm’s length and stared at the other boy in shocked.

 

"Whu-what?" He asked in disbelief.

 

"You heard me. I said, go out with me," Taehyun scowled.

 

"Go out with you? Like, going out on a d-date?" Mino's voice was amazingly high pitched.

 

Taehyun jabbed a finger on Mino's chest harshly, "Be. My. Boyfriend."

 

"B-be your boyfriend?!" Mino gaped and blinked his eyes rapidly. Taehyun smiled evilly at the boy in front of him. He was going to make Song Mino pay for being a total asshole.

 

And that, was how Song Mino became his first boyfriend.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 - gift art from:  **Ala =D**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My heart has calmed down now from the devastating news. I still love all five of them. Winner is hugely one of my source of happiness in life. I wish all of them the best =,)


	2. Transfigure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Song Mino had stupidly agreed to his supposedly outrageous request, that is from a sane person's point of view; the bastard stunned him again with his insistence of wanting to walk the brunet home safely because "that's what boyfriends do, Taehyun-ah."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nonbeta-ed.  
> Also, this fic was mainly made from me ogling at Winner's Japan Tour credits where they dressed up as schoolboys in Japan. Senpais <3

 

 

 

Taehyun woke up with a major headache. Yesterday's ordeal was too much for him. After Song Mino had stupidly agreed to his supposedly outrageous request, that is from a sane person's point of view; the bastard stunned him again with his insistence of wanting to walk the brunet home safely because _that's what boyfriends do, Taehyun-ah._ He even took off his already drenched uniform jacket and slung it on top of Taehyun's head, failing epically at trying to shield the brunet from the rain when they were both already so wet. If this was Mino five seconds after being his boyfriend, he cannot imagine the stupid things the older boy would do for the next coming days.

 

Taehyun was hoping that he could teach Mino a lesson or two for running his mouth and being all kinds of rude towards the brunet yesterday; maybe by embarrassing him, like subjecting him to stupid, gross, puke-inducing _couple-y_ stuff in front of his friends together. Or demanding him to buy gifts he does not need. But the younger was slightly worried now that Mino would take everything Taehyun give in stride because dumb people had always reacted not per his predictions in Taehyun's past. And he had proven himself right at that hypothesis when he had not turned up for school that day, only to be harassed by an endless sound of ringing doorbell and unknown phone calls.

 

He was alone at home, minding his growing headache; his grandmother had gone out to the market, his mom was out working, his younger brother was at school. Taehyun gave a loud sigh of relief when both the doorbell and his phone had finally stopped screaming. He heard the sound of the front door being opened and recognized the footsteps his grandmother would make across the house. Taehyun fell into a listless sleep after that, he had occasionally heard a male voice conversing with his grandmother but he chucked it to his brain being too tired. It could just be the TV or the radio his grandmother was occupied with. That was until he slowly opened his eyes when he heard the sound of a familiar voice waking him up from his sleep.

 

    "Taehyuh-ah, wake up. Taehyun-ah. Taehyun, are you dead?"

 

Song Mino was staring too closely at him, kneeling on the floor beside his bed, in his bedroom. Taehyun blinked once before he woke up with a shout and a hard shove at Mino's face. The other boy fell back and knocked his head at the corner of Taehyun's study table.

 

    "Ow! What the hell, Taehyun? Why do you keep abusing me?" Mino said from the floor, rubbing his bruised head.

 

    "What are you doing here? Why are you in my room?" Taehyun shouted, hastily covering up his body with his comforter. He was fully clothed, but he suddenly felt the urge to protect himself from his whimsical classmate, boyfriend, whichever.

 

    "What do you mean, what am I doing here? You're sick so I came over to check on you," Mino said while sitting up.

 

    "How did you get in? Oh my god, did you picked the lock? Are you breaking and entering now?" Taehyun accused the other boy harshly.

 

    "Woah bastard, I'm not some freaking thief. Your grandma invited me in. And I don't even know how to pick a lock! That's Pyo's specialty! You're unbelievable," Mino replied back, scowling hard.

 

    "Urgh, why would she even let a stranger in, that was dangerous," Taehyun rubbed at his aching temple, his headache worsening.

 

    "Maybe because we're wearing the same school uniform? And I told your grandma that I was your boyfriend," Mino replied.

 

    "You did what?! Oh my god, I'm going to murder you!" Taehyun shouted and was about to lunge forward for the kill. Mino wildly scrambled a few steps away from the furious brunet with an unmanly squeak.

 

    "Chill man! Your grandma was the one who asked me first! She said you were always kinda _special_ from the start! Whatever that means. Maybe you haven't been hiding yourself that well? Even your grandma knows you like Park Seungyoon a wee bit too much," Mino replied hastily.

 

    "Kang Seungyoon! Ah, this is the worse. I'm going to die, this is the end. I'm done for. My mom will kill me. Oh god, I can't think right now," Taehyun said in despair, slumping forward in his bed and covering his face with both hands.

 

Mino stared at the other boy, frowning a little, "Why? Does your head really hurt?" He asked and stood up.

 

    "It’s not that! And yes, of course it does! It's freaking pounding and you being here is not helping it at all," Taehyun glared at the other boy who came forward and sat crossed legs in front of him on his bed. "What are you doing?" He asked skeptically.

 

He felt Mino's fingers on his temples and he quickly slapped those hands away, "Fuck off, don't touch me," Taehyun growled moodily.

 

    "Shut up, Taehyun. Just trust me. You having a stick shoved so far up your ass won't help with your headache either," Mino replied and brought his fingers back to Taehyun's head. He slowly but meticulously rubbed his temples in circles.

 

    "And whose fault do you think that is?" Taehyun said, trying to suppress his temper for now and simply let Mino do what he wants.

 

    "Yours, I bet,” the older boy replied. Taehyun glared at the other boy in front of him with mild annoyance. “We were both caught in the rain and I'm doing fine. You're just a wimp maybe," Mino replied nonchalantly.

 

    " _Dumb people can't catch a cold,_ ever heard of that English saying?" Taehyun just snorted in reply.

  

    “I only know two English words, _Mom’s spaghetti_ and _Slim Shady_.”

 

They spend a few minutes like that in silence. Taehyun with his eyes closed and trying to relax his pounding headache and Mino slowly and diligently massaging his temples soothingly.

 

    "You're really pretty, for a guy," Mino said out of the blue for having to stare at the other boy for awhile.

 

    "I know," Taehyun replied simply.

 

    "Wow, that's it? No _thank you, you too_. Or a _no I'm not, I'm just average looking_?" Mino said.

 

    "Why lie when it's the truth. I put a lot of effort into looking as good as I am. I should be proud of the result," Taehyun replied. "You, on the other hand," the brunette said, opening one of his eyes to stare at the boy.

 

    "What? What's wrong with my look?" Mino asked worriedly, he stopped moving his fingers for a second.

 

    "You're okay, but that buzz cut is really selling the Useless Guy look. You could use some work," Taehyun said and closed his eyes back. "Don't stop now, my brain still hurts."

 

Taehyun heard a low _asshole_ from the other boy and he smirked slightly. He continued enjoying the free massage and let out some low whines of satisfaction every few seconds. He heard Mino gave a slight cough and slowed down his massage gradually.

 

    "Ah, don't stop," Taehyun whined lowly.

 

    "Uh, s-sorry. Um," Mino stuttered and continue moving his fingers in circles.

 

    "Shit, your fingers are so good," Taehyun said in a whisper.

 

    "Oh, uh, r-right," he heard Mino replied back.

 

    "Oh god, don't stop. That's good, right there," the brunette whispered and let out one very suggestive whine when Mino rubbed at a certain spot.

 

    "Okay! That's enough I think? You should lie back down," Mino said out loud and stood up hastily from the bed. Taehyun blinked his eyes opened and was shoved back down to lie on the bed. The older boy swiftly grabbed at his comforter and pulled it up until it was lying snugly under his chin. "There you go, all set. It's sleepy time now, you need to rest. Yup!" The older boy finished with a few awkward pats to the bundled-up brunet.

 

Taehyun narrowed his eyes at the other boy, "Why is your face all red? Did you catch my flu? That couldn't be it, I'm not sick, I just have a slight headache."

 

    "You're thinking too much. I'll be right outside with your grandma if you need anything," Mino said quickly and made a bee line towards the bedroom door.

 

    "What? Break time is almost over, you should hurry up back. You sure you wanna stay longer?" Taehyun asked in confusion while glancing at his clock on the the bedroom's wall. Lunch time was almost up and there was nothing much to do at his house anyway.

 

    "I've been here since morning, a couple of hours more wouldn't make a difference," the other boy said from the door.

 

    "You skipped school, Song Mino?!" Taehyun yelled at him.

 

He heard the boy gave out an amused laugh before he closed the bedroom door gently. Taehyun grumbled angrily from under his sheets, but at least his headache had gone away now. He should really make use of Mino's talented fingers in the future.

 

* * *

 

 

Taehyun does not mind school but he hated the journey going and coming back from it. He would not say that his school was a stone throw away from his home but it was also not really that far either for him to take a bus or the subway to reach it. The walk would take fifteen minutes’ top if he was in no rush, but he would have to endure walking alongside other cheerful students along the way. Call him petty for holding a grudge towards his schoolmates for having friends to make their lousy trip to school more enjoyable. He ought to try and make friends too at least instead of being an antisocial loner. It had not been much of a bother before because he had always had Seungyoon beside him, chattering or humming his favorite tune peacefully. But now since his position had been taken over by a pretty little girlfriend, he spent his days walking to school alone. Well, that was pre-Mino.

 

After-Mino was when the brunet found himself being stunned silent at seeing the older boy standing in front of his apartment complex one early morning, uniform a tad bit proper and chuckling at Taehyun’s dumbstruck face.

 

    “What?” Mino asked in amusement.

 

    “You’re…”

 

    “Yes?”

 

    “You’re,… up early,” Taehyun said after a while.

 

    “That I am I guess. Come on,” Mino said, walking slowly forward while glancing back for the brunet to catch up with him.

 

Taehyun shuffled forward and fell in line with Mino’s steps after a few minutes. The older boy struck up simple and short conversations with him, he behaved more calmly in the morning too compared to his usual zest. Taehyun thought it might be from the early morning start or lack of sleep, it made sense because Song Mino was known for getting to school only three hours after lessons had officially started. Along the way, a few of their classmates or Mino’s friends would greet them, eyeing at the gloomy brunet quizzically before carrying on their way. Mino would smile and greeted everyone back, shoving and playing around with his equally sleepy friends halfheartedly with a warm laughter. He never strayed far from Taehyun though, constantly looking back at him with a small, sleepy smile on his face before continuing their steady walk.

 

The younger boy was awed by Mino’s behavior. How he pleasantly fit himself into a person’s life, into his life, in particular. He slowly lost his initial interest in wanting to get back at Mino for making him cry. And instead, Taehyun found himself looking forward to what Mino would do next in order to make him feel good. The older boy was so different in person compared to rumors he had heard so far. His mornings and evenings coming and going to school, seemed to have brightened up a bit, even if Seungyoon was not there anymore.

 

* * *

 

 

On the second week of dating, Taehyun still had no idea how he ended up sitting at _Mino’s Table_ at their school’s cafeteria during lunch break. Well, he kind of had an idea, when one day Mino stood up and asked him what was he eating for lunch and answering bread managed to produced the most scandalized face on the older boy Taehyun had ever seen.

 

    “Why would you even buy food when cafeteria's food is basically free!” Mino said out loud, dragging Taehyun by his arm across the busy hallway.

 

    “You know why, the cafeteria’s food is lame. They taste bland and they serve the same thing every day. And I have no friends, I don’t want to eat alone in a place full of people!” Taehyun tried to pulled his arm back but damn Mino and his strength when it comes to food or being mean.

 

That was how he found himself seated beside Mino every day during lunch, surrounded by Mino’s loud friends. Mino's friends took his new presence in stride, chucking it up to the older being over friendly instead of anything deeper. Mino did not clarify their relationship to the others and Taehyun was glad for that. The others did try to talk to Taehyun once or twice conversationally but only Pyo seemed to understand Taehyun’s mood swings and would usually leave him alone. He liked Pyo a little bit more after that.

 

Taehyun was amazed that he had never stumbled upon Seungyoon during lunch. He does not know of Seungyoon’s schedule as a prefect, but he hoped his best friend was getting enough breaks between his studying and his jobs. Thinking of how hardworking Seungyoon was, Taehyun did not let himself get left behind too. He would study just as hard as any other students, maybe even more after he pledged to himself to help the dumb duos; Mino and Pyo, in scoring their tests and submit at least one homework per day. The brunet was still amazed at how similar Mino and Pyo’s groan of pain was when they were asked to stay back at the library with him to revise their lessons together. Taehyun’s best friend was smart, his boyfriend (and unwilling sidekick) needed to be on par too.

 

They will thank him later. Maybe.

 

* * *

 

 

Pre-Mino was a time when Taehyun would usually hang out at music stores, listening to old and new records or walking around aimlessly at the town plaza, looking for vintage style clothes or accessories. He was usually accompanied by none other than, yes; Kang Seungyoon, but that time was slowly growing fewer and far apart. There were times when he would listen to a song in a store and thought _‘Seungyoonie would love this’_ or when he would have stumbled across a ridiculous looking pants and lightly thought to himself _‘Seungyoon would definitely not mind being caught wearing this, I bet’._

 

It surprised him a little at how calm and cool he had been when thinking of his crush-slash-best friend nowadays. Not too long ago, he still remembered being petty and sour at the mere thought of Seungyoon and indirectly, his girlfriend. He would love to think that he had matured a little, but he grudgingly agrees that it was not a state that he managed to achieve all by himself. Song Mino does play a role in it too whether Taehyun’s petulant heart liked it or not.

 

After-Mino was when the older boy would follow him around the town plaza, excitedly yelling _‘Impromptu date!’_ for the whole world to hear, much to Taehyun’s chagrin. Mino would cheerfully gawk and _ooh_ -ed at all the clothes that were technically not the older boy's style. He would compliment their designs and unabashedly told Taehyun how this jacket or that shirt would look nice on the brunet. Taehyun’s shopping experience had turned into endless praising galore that would have left the brunet red-faced and throwing a hissy-fit at Mino’s overbearing rave. Again, his heart would begrudgingly agree that Song Mino’s bright characteristic does wonders to his once dispirited and moody air. When Seungyoon would praise Taehyun’s choice but still scold him for buying anything unnecessary, Mino would flatter his stylish fashion sense and eagerly look forward to him wearing them. The brunet had no doubt in his mind that he prefers the latter more.

 

There was an instance when they were back home in Taehyun’s room after a day’s out, finding some new shirt, Mino came back with him being strangely quiet. The younger did not want to seem as if he was being concerned about it, he enjoyed silence occasionally. But any type of silence that came from Mino was something he had never been able to shake off without a hint of worry. The brunet was busying himself with storing his new clothes in his cupboard when he tried to casually approached the situation. He walked towards the older boy sitting crossed legs on his bed, Mino was lightly flipping through a random fashion magazine he picked up somewhere in the room.

 

    “Anything caught your fancy?” Taehyun asked, sitting down a few inches away from his boyfriend. Mino listlessly flipped through the shiny pages, humming noncommittally. Taehyun worried his bottom lip, thinking of a topic to say. “I… really like your new cologne. It smelled nice. Woody and musk is totally your style,” he tried clumsily.

 

    “Oh, thanks. It was a gift, actually. From my ex. My current one ran out, so I had to dig around for another,” Mino replied with a hesitant smile.

 

    “Oh,” Taehyun was not jealous. Even if he was overtook by the strong urge to stab someone. Or stab his own weak, fragile heart. _Wuss_ , he scolded himself curtly.

 

Mino looked at him with worried eyes, trying to catch the younger boy’s gaze, “You’re not mad, are you? If you don’t like it, I won’t wear it anymore. I can always buy a new one. Or borrow some from Pyo. He has some crazy amount of perfume collection. Stepping into his room is like a death trap of deadly fumes, I wouldn’t recommend it at all” Mino said warily.

 

    “No, no, it’s okay. Just wear em. Like I said, it smelled nice. It suits you. And I like it so it’s no biggie,” Taehyun replied gingerly, unsure of his own fluctuating feelings of wanting to nuzzle Mino’s enticing neck or strangle the older boy for wearing his ex’s gift.

 

    “What else do you like?”

 

Taehyun blinked a few times and looked up at his boyfriend confusedly, “Huh?”

 

Mino swallowed once and asked again, “What else do you like, I mean, what kind of…man or style, do you prefer? I’m sure you have your own tastes too in the boys you like. Maybe you like someone who has shaggy hair? Wears glasses? Have a lame fashion sense?” The older boy asked, looking anywhere but at Taehyun.

 

    “Did you just described Seungyoon and made fun of him again?” Taehyun asked unamused.

 

    “Well, he is the only guy I know you like. Liked? I hope? And his floral pants are stupid, you know it too,” Mino said defensively.

 

Taehyun lets out a long hum before he settled himself comfortably beside Mino, leaning his head on the older boy’s shoulder and nonchalantly flipped through the fashion magazine in Mino’s hands, “Well, I like guys who are taller than me. Nice, kind, friendly, always paying attention to me whether I want to or not.”

 

    “O-oh, okay,” Mino nodded slowly.

 

    “I also like those who brings me out of my comfort zone. I want to try and feel and experience a lot of different stuff. But I don’t have the energy or even spirit to go through with it. And I especially appreciate guys who knows how to make me laugh, even if it was inwardly sometimes,” Taehyun said some more, taking Mino’s hand in his and intertwining their fingers together.

 

    “I can definitely do that. I’m good at that!” Mino said out loud, gripping Taehyun’s hand eagerly.

 

    “That you are,” Taehyun smiled wistfully to himself.

 

    “W-what else? I, do you, like a certain style of clothes on a guy? Any types of fashion?” Mino asked again in a low mumble.

 

    “Well, it’s good if they could dress properly. Having a nice body built but hiding it all under baggy sweaters and lame tracksuits are a waste.”

 

    “Sorry,” Mino replied sheepishly.

 

    “And… I like it when the guy has slicked back hair. Effortlessly hot by not hiding his manly face and strong eyebrows,” Taehyun said deliberately while nuzzling Mino’s neck. “Black, slicked back hair turns me on, maybe a bit too much,” he said while smiling evilly at Mino’s bopping Adam’s apple when he swallowed nervously at the brunet’s confession.

 

    “Y-yeah, okay,” he heard the older boy replied in a stutter.

 

 

 

 

Three months after that, Mino had acquired the most sinfully hot looking slicked back hairstyle and he smirked smugly every time Taehyun ran his hand through the older boy’s hair while blushing hard at his boyfriend’s new look.

 

* * *

 

 

 

One sunny Sunday afternoon, Mino came over Taehyun’s house wearing his dumbest looking grin. A grin Taehyun had slowly recognized as the boy being proud of himself for whatever silly achievement he managed to unlock in his life at that moment. Mino sat them both down on the edge of Taehyun's well-made bed. He bounced excitedly in place while handing out a small, plain white box to the other.

 

    "Please stop moving so roughly, I've just changed the sheets," Taehyun asked hopelessly.

 

    "Take it!" Mino replied excitedly back instead, he shoved the white box into Taehyun's hands. It was thin and a tad bigger than his palm. The brunet looked over the item and was surprised that the box had embossed carvings on it and felt sturdy. Nothing like a cheap cardboard box he had thought of at his first glance of it.

 

    "What's this?" He asked Mino, one eyebrow raised suspiciously.

 

    "Something you've been asking for. I finally got my hands on one. Open it!" The older boy's grin grew brighter.

 

Taehyun gave the boy a fishy look before he snapped the lid open, his eyes grew wide from the content inside. He slid a finger on the smooth velvet linings and lifted a soft blue silk cloth out of the box. He stared at the beautiful geometry designs printed on it with misty eyes.

 

    "Is this..."

 

    "I ruined yours, and you asked for a silk handkerchief, right?"

 

    "Yeah... But, where did you, I didn't- I wasn't-" Taehyun was at a loss of words by Mino's gift, which looked and felt ridiculously expensive between his fingers.

 

    "You like it?" The older boy scooted closer, grinning at the brunet's awestruck reaction.

 

    "I, yeah I do, I mean, how did you-" Taehyun tried his best to not let his feelings overwhelmed him.

 

    "I got it from Zico-hyung. He has like a heck lot in his room so I took one! I didn't even think it was possible to have that many hankies!" Mino said proudly. Taehyun's earlier elation vanished in an instant of heavy letdown.

 

The brunet had heard of this Zico-person before. Apparently, he was one of Mino’s very close, older friend; an underground rapper or whatnot. The brunet had always felt like Mino was too carefree with whom or where he spends his time with. It did cross his mind that with Mino’s face, he could be off somewhere, being a deliberate troublemaker or hanging out at pubs that were off limits to people his age when Taehyun was not looking. He would not be surprised if that was the case, where else would the older boy be spending his time with his other _mature friends?_

 

The younger boy looked up at the other boy and stared him down for a few moments, "You what?"

 

    "Yeah, they were like, lying around in his cupboard. Like a collection. It's weird, maybe it's his kink but hey, I'm not judging him or anything but with that amount? That's totally some sort of a fetish," Mino mock-whispered. He got startled by the loud sound of the lid snapping shut in front of his face.

 

    "This is Zico's?" Taehyun asked in deadpanned.

 

    "Zico- _hyung_ , he's still older ya know," Mino corrected him.

 

    "I don't care! Are you telling me you'd just took it from him? Are you giving me a second-hand item? I thought you brought it with your own money! Or you went out of your way to get it for me with sweat and pain!" Taehyun shouted in annoyance.

 

    "Sweat and pain? Why would I be doing that? How? From what?" Mino asked back, thoroughly confused.

 

    "I don't know, from part time jobs? Like, earning huge money to pay back for your mistake?" The brunet said exasperatedly.

 

    "How would I even find the time for part time jobs? The school doesn't allow us to!" Mino said back.

 

    "Oh, now you care about the school rules?"

 

    "What is this? Why are you even mad? I got you your silk, girly hanky didn't I? What's the problem with it?" The older boys asked back, crossing his arms and glaring at Taehyun's outburst.

 

    "The problem is you haven't learned your lesson. You didn't even feel guilty, and you didn't earn that thing. And it's not girly, you doofus! It's pretty and fantastic and you stole it from your friend!"

 

    "Woah woah wait, stole it? I didn't steal anything! I was at Zico-hyung's house, I opened his drawers, I saw some fancy ass hankies beside his silk undies so I ask-"

 

    "Why were you even in his underwear drawers?!"

 

    "Mine got into a little accident when I woke up that morning so I had to borrow his!"

 

    "Oh my god, Mino!"

 

    "What?! I said it was an accident! It was a normal, platonic bro-with-bro sleepover, with Pyo too if I may add, and a normal morning wood from a hot dream the night before!"

 

    "Stop it! I don't need to know all that!"

 

    "But you were doubting me! And I earned that hanky, okay? I asked him if he had any or where he got those and he gave me a completely new one. He said the design on this was too girly for him."

 

    "It's not girly!"

 

    "And I had to mix him some tracks as payment. Wait, not some, _five_  tracks. And that's totally a rip-off if I'd say so myself. If one of those mixes becomes a hit, he could fill a swimming pool with that hanky just by the sales he'll be getting. That's it, that's how I got your gift. You're welcome, by the way," Mino explained defensively. He scooted back on the mattress and leaned back against the wall, pouting hard.

 

Taehyun looked over at the gloomy older boy and back to the box in his hand. He traced the design outside on the surface and smiled a little. He calmed down a bit after learning that Mino had been trying hard to please the younger boy in any way possible. He even went through the trouble of taking tasks from his hyung just to pay back for Taehyun's whimsical request about his old handkerchief. After several minutes of suffering from stupid butterflies in his stomach and internal cooing at Mino's obvious pout, Taehyun moved to seat himself closer to the other boy.

 

    "Hey," he called out gently. Mino ignored him and twirled the string of his sweater absentmindedly. "Hey, Mino-hyung."

 

That seemed to get his attention for a second because being the jerk that he was, Taehyun had barely called Mino _hyung_ ever, even when he was a year older.

 

    "I'm sorry," Taehyun said with a cheeky smile. Mino pouted even harder and looked away.

 

After a few careful considerations, Taehyun's hand found its way over to Mino's and the older boy's eyes were fixed on the brunet's hand resting lightly on top of his on the sheets. They stayed that way for a while, then Mino grumbled a little and adjusted his hand, turning it around and intertwining their fingers together. Taehyun giggled lightly at Mino's easily crumbled facade. The older boy looked suspiciously into the brunet's mischievous eyes for a moment before Taehyun guided the older boy's hand to his mouth, pressing a slow kiss to the knuckles.

 

    "I'm sorry," he said again, head tilted a bit to maximize his full good looks.

 

Taehyun smiled for a moment as Mino straightened himself and then very slowly and hesitantly, brought his other hand up and used his fingers to lightly trace the younger's lips and cheek. Taehyun was startled a bit by Mino's intense gaze towards him.

 

    "I could forgive you, under one condition," he whispered. Taehyun did not know how they had come to be in such an intimate moment but cannot help but leaned in just so into the older boy's touch.

 

    "What? I... what do you want?" The brunet whispered back, his voice low and a little airy.

 

Mino slid his thumb over the soft surface of Taehyun's lips purposely, "Will you let me kiss you?"

 

Taehyun took a light gasp at Mino's request, he looked up into Mino's stare with his own guarded eyes, "But...I had never kissed before," he confessed slowly.

 

Mino groaned a little at Taehyun's confession and brought his other hand up to cupped the other cheek and whispered hotly to him, "I'll teach you."

 

He moved a little closer and angled his head slightly, watching the brunet's eyes carefully for any signs of objection but there were none. Mino nudged his lips against Taehyun's once slowly, letting the younger boy feel the contact. He brought their lips again together the second time before the brunet made a soft sound and responded, bringing his hand up to rest on Mino's neck. The older boy traced the tip of his tongue along the brunet's upper lip and then meeting him in a full-fledged kiss, two pairs of lips pushing eagerly against each other for the first time.

 

Mino pulled back and looked down to the heavy blush adorning Taehyun's cheeks, "Hey, open your mouth a bit," he requested breathlessly against the other's lips.

 

    "Wha-" Taehyun barely managed to let out his question before his mouth was invaded by Mino again, the feel of the other boy's questing tongue in his mouth was electrifying. Taehyun whimpered helplessly at the new and exhilarating experience. The older boy was obviously well-versed in this area. Mino pushed him back against the wall and continued to kiss him deeply, the older boy’s hands in his hair and Taehyun’s own grasping tightly at the back of his boyfriend's sweater.

 

   "Mino- wait, can't breathe-" the younger boy pleaded but Mino aggressively continue to kiss the brunet with open mouth kisses, licking and tasting the other with gusto.

 

   "God, I've waited so long for this," Mino confessed fiercely, inserting his thumb inside the younger's mouth and nudged the brunet to open it wider so he could trace every corner of Taehyun's mouth with his tongue. "You have no idea how sexy you are, Taehyun," he said and spent the next few minutes devouring the brunet's needy whimper with his mouth. Taehyun's heart was beating so loud, he was slowly feeling light-headed from the intensity of the kiss. His tongue was moving on his own to try and match to Mino's eagerness and he does not feel the least bit gross out at the drools falling down his chin. "Swallow if it's too much," Mino advised in a breath and Taehyun could do nothing but obeyed and moaned loudly at his boyfriend's husky voice.

 

They finally pulled apart after Mino had thoroughly plundered Taehyun's mouth for a long moment, eyes low-lidded and both breathing harder than before. The older boy kept biting on Taehyun's lower lip, liking the bruising color on it.

 

    "Did you liked it?" Mino asked in a harsh whisper, leaning his head against the other boy, landing light kisses on the corner of his mouth and jaw.

 

    "Yes, yes, fuck yes, kiss me again, please," Taehyun replied back, his breathing still heavy and his heart pounding.

 

    "What? I meant the girly hanky, did you liked it?" Mino asked again, blinking down at the dumbstruck face in front of him.

 

Taehyun could not believe the older boy's train of thoughts. He just had his first kiss and it felt fantastic and he needed more and the boy only cared about the stupid piece of cloth?

 

    "Fuck that thing, kiss me now, bastard," he said in anger and pulled the other boy back to him for another round of hot, make-out session.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *fans self*  
> Updated for sweet rencarenca and all other readers, I'm sorry to keep you peeps waiting ( ﾟ▽ﾟ)/. I hope there'll be *more* fun stuff on next chapter, ya know now that they've kissed eep


	3. Transfixed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They were a couple and were currently celebrating their hundred days anniversary together. Everyone was lucky that Taehyun did not faint on the spot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nonbeta.  
> Did you see the rating? It went up from T > M  
> Hihi :D

 

 

Taehyun had made up a list of pros and cons of dating Song Mino. The good thing about dating the big idiot was that he made Taehyun's days brighter just by being there. The downside of dating the big doofus was that Taehyun was getting fatter.

 

He had read of this problem before in magazines, of how people who were in a relationship was too happy and satisfied with their current lives that they would stuff their face full to prove it or something. Taehyun started noticing how he had been smiling a lot more these days, how his words had turned kinder when he speaks to people, he was not always in a bad mood anymore and the most important thing; his designer jeans were getting tighter. The only plausible explanation for his weight gain was that he noticed how Mino had been feeding him food nonstop.

 

It started when Mino had made it a habit of stopping by some store or another on their walk back home from school to buy buns or ice cream for them to share. He would then freely invited himself into the Nam residence, offering the snacks to his family. He would greet Taehyun's grandmother and ask about her day, he would then play some video games with Taehyun's little brother until the brunet chased the younger one away to his room to do his homework. Mino would then hang in Taehyun's room, laughing away reading manhwas or grumbling loudly when Taehyun asked to revise their studies together while occasionally trying to steal kisses.

 

Later in the evening, when Taehyun's mom came back from work, Mino would excuse himself. He would exchange short pleasantries with Mrs. Nam and politely declined any offer of staying for dinner. Taehyun was definitely not sulking. He does sometimes have an ugly feeling that it might be because they did not have much to offer anyway and Mino's home probably had an array of delicious food compared to their lower household income. But then twice a month Mino had been dropping by on weekends, cycling his bike with dishes in an abundant amount in tow. He would say that his mom always cooked too much on Friday nights, _and these are just leftovers, it's not much but it's delicious. Let's eat!_

 

Taehyun did not tell anyone that he had met Mino's mother once when he was running an errand at the mart. He would say thank you for sharing their food, but Mrs. Song would then tell Taehyun to keep this a secret because _Mino doesn't want you to know, but he would beg me to teach him how to cook for you because he's worried about your weight. He'd loudly claim 'my Taehyunie will not starve to death just because he thinks sharp jawlines are sexy!'_

 

Taehyun would blush at Mrs. Song's secret, he would blush too when seated beside Mino at his home's dining table, eating and chattering with his family and Mino. He should not be getting butterflies in his stomach every time the older boy does something tooth-rottingly sweet. But he does, seeing at how the boy had amazingly managed to worm his way into his family's good side, and slowly into his heart too.

 

People often say that a happy stomach makes a happy person. So happy in fact that they would willingly gain weight just to see the satisfied look on their boyfriend's face. Taehyun was totally 70% whipped for the older boy for him to be okay with this treatment.

 

The other 30% happened when they reached their 100 days anniversary.

 

It was technically the hugest fit in Korean dating culture to celebrate the hundred days they had been dating by doing something creative and romantic. So Taehyun was utterly taken aback when Mino had invited the brunet to his home one day, introduced him to the gathered Song family and the rest of his closest friends in what seemed to be a little get together while announcing to everyone that they were a couple and were currently celebrating their hundred days anniversary together. Everyone was lucky that Taehyun did not faint on the spot.

 

The younger boy was also completely stupefied at Mino's family for being way too chilled at their son's horrific bomb drop but then Mino's lovely younger sister; Song Danah had congratulated him on managing to finally keep Mino on a leash. The Song family was worried that Mino seemed to not be able to stay in a relationship for more than a few weeks with his exes until they saw how Mino had gradually changed himself into being more responsible and reserved. They had a feeling that Mino had found _The One_ and they were eager to meet said person.

 

    "I'm glad to finally meet you. I thought my brother had finally fallen in love with a mature woman, it was a huge surprise to us that you turned out to be a boy his age instead. Honestly, I believe my brother only needed someone kind and strong-headed to take care of him and vice versa. Thank you for being that person to him," Danah had said while holding his hands tightly. Taehyun blushed but nodded his head dumbly in return.

 

Taehyun then lounged around the lively house, getting to know the older boy's parents, squealing over his lazy fat female cat that was oddly named Johnny and chatting with Mino's friends. Taehyun recognized some of them from school, he worried his lip at the thought that the others now knew of his sexual orientation and would be a target for bullies and badmouths. But Mino had reassured him that gay couples were not unusual and was accepted in his close circle of friends. They were trustworthy and knew how sensitive the issue was. He almost cried in relief when the boys did not shun him away as he took a seat beside Pyo, the rest of his schoolmates smiled helpfully at him.

 

    "So, who asked who out first?" One of Mino's older friends asked curiously, a pretty young man called Kim Jinwoo who was sitting on the same sofa beside him.

 

    "I'll bet my entire life savings that it was Mino. Taehyun-shi is pretty, man. Elegant face, foxy eyes, delicate body, what's not to like?" another man cut in from the other end of the seat, sitting beside Jinwoo. Lee Seunghoon was his name if Taehyun remembered correctly.

 

    "You only have a couple of wons in your wallet. So? Was it really Mino?" Jinwoo nudged the brunet playfully for an answer. Taehyun shook his head and proceed to tell the whole story of how they managed to end up as a couple in embarrassment. The rest of the gang guffawed in delight, surprised that such an unexpected hook-up had managed to last the longest in Mino's dating life.

 

    "Why did they always broke up, though? Mino and those girls?" Taehyun asked while picking at an invisible lint on his shirt. A tick he does when feeling unsure of himself.

 

Seunghoon hummed thoughtfully before replying, "I think you should ask him that. All I can say is that he's too nice for his own good."

 

Taehyun frowned at those words. Mino was indeed kind but he would not have let anyone walked all over him, could he? Although it did not seem that far-fetched either seeing at how the older boy seemed to always prioritize others before him. Taehyun remembered how Mino had cried his heart out the first time they met, he really wished he would not have to see that distressing scene again.

 

    "Did you get your couple rings yet?" Jinwoo asked, trying to distract the younger boy when he saw the cool face turned glum.

 

Taehyun blinked his eyes and looked over at the man dumbly, "Couple rings?" He asked in confusion.

 

    "Yeah, for your hundred days anniversary. It's cliché and the most boring gift but at least you'd get to show off your relationship to others," Jinwoo said cheerfully.

 

Taehyun swallowed and stumbled on his reply, "I don't- I mean, I'm not ready to, it's just that-"

 

    "Hey, it's okay," Seunghoon called out to him calmly. "It's scary to be out in the open. Sometimes it's okay to never come out too. It's not something to force. If you're not ready then you're not ready. Just ask us if you need any help, don't be a stranger, aight?" Seunghoon offered with a winning smile. The older man laced his hand with Jinwoo's and kissed the pretty man's knuckles lightly while chastening him with a _don't scare Mino's poor boyfriend_. Jinwoo pouted and offered a meek apology to Taehyun. The younger boy saw a set of matching rings on the older men fingers and looked away in bewilderment. It was his first time meeting a gay couple. They looked so comfortable and normal together. His heart beats loudly from elation.

 

* * *

 

 

They were in their art club when Taehyun tentatively called out to his boyfriend. School hours had finished long ago, there were only the two of them in the classroom as Taehyun had always taken a great deal of time completing his art assignment. Mino looked up from his drawing when he heard his name. He moved from his spot in front of his easel and dragged a stool. He took a seat near the brunet as Taehyun turned around on his own stool and stared at the older boy anxiously.

 

    "What's up? You okay?" Mino asked, frowning at Taehyun's shrinking look.

 

    "I- I've made up my mind," Taehyun started to say, voice small and timid.

 

Mino raised one brow in confusion, "Okay,... About what?" He asked further.

 

    "About us," Taehyun replied.

 

Mino's face morphed into a mix of apprehension and devastation. The colors drained from him and he looked as if he was ready to bolt out of his seat.

 

Taehyun was alarmed by the changes and immediately knew that Mino had misunderstood his words. He quickly snatched both of Mino's hands in his and clumsily explained himself, "Wait, I didn't mean it like that! I meant I have thought of something, for you! My gift for our hundred days anniversary!" He rushed to say.

 

Mino had doubled over on his seat with a loud, relieved sigh. He moaned pathetically and mumbled, "Holy shit Taehyun, don't scare me like that."

 

    "Sorry..."

 

    "Nah, it's okay. It's just, I'm always expecting the worst in this kind of things. Sorry," Mino straightened up and smiled wistfully at him. Their Conté covered hands had gotten even dirtier within their tightened grips. Taehyun frowned slightly at Mino's admission. "So, what was it you wanna tell me?" The older boy questioned.

 

Taehyun swallowed nervously, "Well, a few days ago you introduced me, officially to your family and friends as your b-boyfriend. It was, I was really surprised and scared and almost died on the spot but it was also one of the nicest things that had ever happened to me, so, thank you for that. I really, really liked it." He said, watching the older boy smiled gleefully at him.

 

    "You're welcome," Mino replied kindly.

 

    "And I didn't give you anything in return. I'm sorry I can't do what you did for me with my family. I really want to but, forget about that. Anyway, I gave it some thoughts and I've made up my mind," Taehyun paused for awhile. He had prepared himself mentally for this moment. He texted everyone he knew for advice; Danah, Pyo, Jinwoo and Seunghoon, they had all agreed that if he was completely okay with it then it would definitely be _the most awesome gift for Mino,_ Pyo's words, not his. Taehyun nodded to himself and took a deep breath, "I want you to come over my house this weekend." He said finally.

 

Mino stared at him unblinking, "Okay. You bought me something huge?" He asked, a little unsure.

 

Taehyun frowned and slowly enunciated his next words, "My family; my mom, grandma, and Donghyun would be away. To Jeonju, for a family trip."

 

Mino nodded slowly, "And... You're not going?"

 

Taehyun shook his head lightly, "And... You need someone to cook for you?" Mino asked in clarification.

 

Taehyun whined in misery and embarrassment, "No! Please don't let me say it, it's embarrassing!"

 

    "Say what? What is it? I don't get it," Mino pulled at Taehyun's hands to get his attention. "Say what, Taehyun-ah?"

 

    "Argh! I'm offering you to! Have... sex... with me... if you want to, I guess?" Taehyun said out loud before slowly losing his composure and mumbled the rest of the words away.

 

Mino froze in place.

 

    "Oh god, this is mortifying. I'm asking you to have sex with me! This weekend. Okay? And you should know beforehand that I would probably suck so bad cause it's my first time! That's right, I'm an old as fuck virgin so don't expect too much out of m-!" Taehyun was forced to swallow the rest of his words when Mino suddenly lunged forward and smashed their lips together, his strong arms wounding around Taehyun's body to keep him in place.

 

Their lips were so hot; their tongues were so desperate; their moans were so rough, and Taehyun felt like the older boy was trying to devour him whole. The kiss swept a burning flame through their bodies, resonating with each other's, making it difficult for them to pulled away even when their need to breathe called out warningly to them.

 

They swiftly pulled apart for a few short breaths before coming together again. The second kiss was slower this time, more gentle and less hunger. It opened a new avenue of emotions, flooding their hearts with something so pure that they were unsure if they were ready to call it _something more_ yet. The kiss conveyed so much passion that made them both reeled in bliss.

 

When they pulled away, Taehyun's glazed eyes stared affectionately at Mino's.

 

The older boy started stammering, "You, I'm sorry I couldn't hold myself back. I'm just… I know you don't like it when we got too close at school it was just, I was just so happy. I'm freaking out. You make me so happy I can't control myself."

 

After a moment of staring at the flustered older boy, Taehyun giggled and smiled beautifully at him, gracing his lips in the way that drove Mino absolutely crazy.

 

    "Sure, but don't make it a habit, though," Taehyun replied, voice soft and indulgent.

 

Mino hid the deep blush that had stolen onto his face by bowing his head, he shot out in a flash to grab at Taehyun, pulling the brunet close and cradled the brunet's head in the crook of his tanned neck. While hiding his flushed face in the soft hair, Mino added, "And just so you know, once in a while I would sometimes get carried away in bed. I'm going to apologize in advance if I happened to wring you dry."

 

Mino's blush deepened when Taehyun snorted.

 

    "I'll give you a chance to prove it, big guy," Taehyun said. He rested his head on Mino's shoulder, sighing softly. He smiled wider at the tightening grip on his body. His heart bloomed in apparent glee at managing to make the older boy happy.

 

They spent the rest of the quiet evening together.

 

* * *

 

 

And they spent the rest of the following week away from each other.

 

Mino did not lie when he said he often get carried away in bed. Well, Taehyun would like to correct him on that. Mino was fucking savage in bed. He was a freaking insatiable beast and Taehyun's ass was totaled. He warned the older boy to stay away until his ass had stopped burning.

 

Taehyun admits that the sex was beyond phenomenal. Mino took great care of him since it was his first time but he also wrung the brunet dry the whole day. He really needed to distance himself from the older boy if he wanted his ass to be able to shit properly again. And so Taehyun had set somewhat of a ground rule when it came to their sex life; one day of filthy intercourse in every two or three weeks only, much to Mino's obvious dismay.

 

Take it or leave it; Taehyun had stated his ultimatum. Mino had, of course, took it, while deliberately mixed up his own light sexual escapades upon the brunet every other day. A bit of a blowjob here, a little fingering there; the big doofus really knew how to play his card in this game. Taehyun could only sigh in annoyance.

 

* * *

 

 

The brunet was tapping his foot impatiently on the wooden floor. He crossed his arms and stared down at the dirty, smelly boys standing at the entrance of Nam's residence with sheepish smiles on both their faces.

 

    "I'm just saying since we were already drenched, we might as well swim. Ain't that right, my man?" A completely dirtied Mino asked Donghyun who was as equally as caked as him, putting his palm out in the air for Taehyun's little brother to high-five.

 

    "Right!" The little boy chirped back and slapped their muddied hands together with too much enthusiasm for someone who was in trouble. Taehyun stared at them unamused.

 

    "Might as well swim _in the mud?_ " Taehyun asked skeptically. Mino shrugged, a wide smile adorning his face. He brushed some of the dirt of his head, flakes of dried earth littering the entrance floor.

 

    "It's a metaphor, Taehyun-ah. And it was a football field, of course it gets muddy during rain!" Mino said defensively, Donghyun looked up at the older boy with shiny eyes and nodded his head vigorously in agreement.

 

The brunet rubbed his temples with a long groan. "Not another word. Both of you, bathroom; now," Taehyun instructed with a frown. The drenched duos saluted the simmering brunet playfully and tiptoed towards the end of the hall, giggling and trying to avoid any more unnecessary mess that would get them both into further trouble.

 

Taehyun sighed, when his boyfriend and little brother teamed up over something, the both of them would definitely be nothing but headache and loud noises. But at least Donghyun had someone to spend his rambunctious kid energy on to. Taehyun was too old for any strenuous physical activities. The brunet shook his head listlessly, he went into the kitchen to fixed some light snacks for his little brother and brought it to the living room. He turned the cartoon channel on and deposited Donghyun's school bag closer to the low table so that his brother would start doing his homework after they have done washing up.

 

Taehyun went into his room, grabbing his own Advance Mathematics quiz form and lying flat on his bed, tuning out everything as he concentrated on getting the worksheet done. Mino came in a couple of minutes later, asking for some clothes to borrow and the brunet hummed back nonchalantly.

 

The older boy hovered around beside the bed, drying his hair quickly with a towel and chucking it on Taehyun's study chair. "Scoot over, what are you doing?" The older boy asked after he had done donning a simple plain shirt and shorts. He lay down beside Taehyun on the bed, watching the brunet, he rested his still slightly wet head on his tanned arms.

 

    "Maths pop quiz."

 

    "The one you'd said will give you extra curricular marks?"

 

    "Mmhmm."

 

    "Yikes. Well, good luck then."

 

    "Done any of your homework?" Taehyun replied without looking up.

 

    "Nope," his boyfriend replied proudly. His hand had been stroking Taehyun's back from the moment he lay down; up from the brunet's neck and down to his butt, over and over as if petting a cat.

 

    "Whatever it is you're doing, I'm not having sex with you," Taehyun stated after awhile. Of course not, Donghyun was home. Furthermore, the brunet had told the older boy that he could only handle vigorous sex once every two or three weeks.

 

Mino smirked in return and climb over Taehyun's back, he slowly inched down between the brunet's legs and pulled both of his boyfriend's pants and briefs down. "Don't worry, Just gonna help you relax. Go on and finish your quiz, babe. Don't mind me," Mino said as he lay down on his stomach and settled himself comfortably over Taehyun's naked bottom, pulling the younger boy's fair cheeks apart.

 

Taehyun clicked his tongue, he minded a whole lot actually but as soon as he felt Mino's wet tongue lapping and tasting his hole gently, he made an appreciative moan, his body immediately going lax on the bed.

 

Rimming was okay. Taehyun had only learned recently that his kink was getting rimmed at a leisured pace which the older boy was good at. Mino was just as surprised that he liked eating Taehyun's ass out just as much as Taehyun liked his ass being eaten all day long. Mino had been doing it to the younger boy often. He had rimmed the brunet countless times in their own bedrooms, he fingered the younger boy silly at their school library, sucked Taehyun's cock at the men's room in various malls, they even had quickies a few times at Zico's studio, much to their hyung's annoyance after they got caught.

 

They played around a lot but rarely go all the way. Sex was too rigorous, backbreaking even for the brunet, no pun intended. Frankly, Taehyun had thought that sex would not be that difficult but he was a virgin only until recently and Mino was a partner who was hard to satisfy. Taehyun's ass had unfortunately suffered greatly from his naivety. Rimming though, this he could tolerate. This was slow, this was cozy and does not involve any kind of pain no matter how pleasurable it felt to be stretched wide. Mino's wicked tongue felt incredibly good and he often fell into a state of complete bliss when Mino was done with it.

 

As it were, the older boy spent almost twenty minutes lapping and sucking at Taehyun's hole as the brunet continued doing his quiz thoughtlessly until his hips finally quivered unwittingly and he came on the bed all by himself. Mino pulled away and sat back on his heels, stroking his hard penis urgently. Usually, after Mino had done pleasuring Taehyun, he would finish off with his own hand; shooting his load on Taehyun's butt, cock or stomach, wherever he could reach at that time. This time he painted the brunet's ass with his cum, groaning low while admiring the sight before him. He would always have a packet of wet tissue too stored somewhere on himself to gently wiped them both down.

 

Taehyun was okay with this. In fact, he appreciates the older boy's understanding for not pushing him when he refused to get intensely intimate. He was also a little glad that Mino always knew when the brunet was in actuality very horny, only acting a bit prickly often times for some odd semblance of petulant pretense. The older boy seemed to know just how far he could demand from the brunet when it came to sex without pushing his boundaries.

 

Taehyun was not blown away even the slightest at learning that Mino craved intimacy almost constantly; he was a crazy, lustful bastard through and through. It was a well-known fact that Mino dated more-than-you-can-count-amount-of-girls and probably slept with even more. What was astounding to the brunet was that Mino's friends had sneakily told Taehyun that the older boy had been holding out for months and they thought it was the most amazing feat ever. Mino had some crazy sexual drive, for him to be suffering from blue balls simply because he waited for Taehyun to give him the green light was all too sweet.

 

Alas, Taehyun was a normal teenage boy anyway, and Mino's zest along with Taehyun lustful curiosity helped strengthened their relationship in the end when one of them always seemed to give in ultimately.

 

Mino wiped at his mouth using his shirt, throwing the soiled tissue into Taehyun's dustbin as if he was playing basketball. He kissed both of Taehyun's mounds with equally loud smacks before pulling the pants up properly. "So, finished your quiz while I was down there?" Mino asked as he lay back comfortably beside the brunet, both hands behind his head on the pillow.

 

    "One more question left," Taehyun replied airily, breathing slowly to calm his thumping heart after he had just climaxed a few minutes ago.

 

    "Awesome. Seemed like my tongue managed to help you out a bit," Mino smirked at the brunet. "What would you do without me?" He leaned closer, leaving butterfly kisses on the side of Taehyun's head and face affectionately.

 

    "Finish answering the whole quiz without missing one maybe," Taehyun said. He dropped his brunet head slowly, pillowing it with his own arms as his eyes started to get heavy.

 

Mino rolled over and hugged the younger boy tightly, snuggling closer to the sleepy brunet. "Aww don't be like that, babe. I think I did a pretty good job. Aren't you going to reward me?" He asked while licking the shell of Taehyun's ear suggestively. Taehyun wiggled around in the older boy's bear hug, pushing half-heartedly at the broad chest with a mock frown.

 

    "If I managed to get a high mark for this quiz tomorrow, I'll think of something to pay you back," Taehyun replied in an exasperated tone, giving up at trying to pry the big human octopus off him.

 

    "Deal!" Mino shouted enthusiastically while crushing the boy to his chest, hugging the life out of the poor, spent brunet.

 

* * *

 

 

It was almost the end period of their school day, Taehyun had just gotten back from the Arts and Academic wing. His steps were light as he had just finished checking the marks of previous pop quiz he joined. His name was up there amongst the people with the highest marks. He knew he was smart but sometimes he even amazed himself. Now all he needed to do was to find his boyfriend, brag about his intellectual prowess and probably put forward a few tempting propositions to the older boy, feeling more than a little generous at the moment from his achievement.

 

He reached their classroom but everyone was busy tidying up the place as a preparation for going back home. Pyo kindly pointed Taehyun to the back of the school, saying that Mino was in charge of taking out the rubbish that day. Taehyun thanked the boy who was busy trying to attempt a circus act of juggling three chalkboard dusters for reasons unknown and went off in search of the older boy.

 

The brunet was walking towards the school's designated recycling area when he heard more than one set of oncoming footsteps up ahead. He turned the corner and saw Mino dusting off his hands while chatting casually with two other girls on each side, heading towards the brunet. Taehyun could not tell what they were talking about but he could certainly tell the girls intention towards the older boy. They were giggling cutely and batting their eyelashes ever so subtly, voices so very high pitched and whiny. A huge frown settled permanently on Taehyun's face.

 

Mino seemed unperturbed by it all, easily laughing along to anything they were saying. Only when one of them had the guts to wrapped her hands around Mino's arm that Taehyun decided to cough loudly from where he was standing, announcing his presence to the trio. The three of them looked over briefly, the girls faces painted in slight annoyance while the older boy was wearing the brightest grin at seeing him. Taehyun smiled thinly back, still eyeing the tight grip that one girl had over his boyfriend's arm, almost touching her boobs with it.

 

Mino shifted his body and removed the girl's hands from his arm smoothly much to the little minx disappointment. "Taehyun! What are you doing here? Did you come to pick me up? Were you lonely?" He teased the brunet. The older boy leaned one of his arms around the brunet's shoulder affectionately, glancing at the girls who were standing in front of them. "Sorry, I don't go to clubs that much anymore. Next year will be our final year, we need to start getting serious. No playing around." He said in mock reproach, moving his pointy finger in a no-no gesture.

 

The girls frown deepened, they watched the older boy back hugged the brunet before one of them sighed. "You're a huge tease, Song Mino. We'll see you around then," one of them said.

 

_Not a chance, girlfriend,_ Taehyun thought irritably. They waved prettily before walking away, disappearing out of their sights. Taehyun caught a faint murmured of _he's always with that guy now, it's annoying,_ from their velvety voices. The brunet blew raspberries to no one in particular at the comment. He had managed to hold on for a long time to this fine piece of a good looking specimen and he was in no hurry to let him go. Well, maybe he can lengthen the leash for the older boy to hang around clubs with his other adult buddies, but not to mingle with girls eager for his attention.

 

Taehyun patted the tanned arm around him accommodatingly. He usually was not one for blatant showcase of skinship in front of others, but he was willing to let it slide this time. He wanted to show off his close relationship with the older boy to the girls a bit. "Shall we?"

 

Mino nodded and took Taehyun's hand in his own before leading the brunet away. It was a few moments later before Taehyun noticed that they were not headed in the direction of their class. He followed silently for a couple of moments before curiosity got the better of him.

 

    "Where are we headed to?"

 

Mino took a sharp turn behind the empty school ground and led Taehyun towards the place where they first became a couple during that rainy day.

 

    "Were you jealous of what you saw just now, Taehyun?" Mino asked casually, eyes landing on the younger boy with slight mirth.

 

Taehyun barely managed to get the answer out of his mouth before Mino turned quickly and pushed the brunet up against the school wall and took captive of the brunet's lips. To say the brunet was taken completely by surprise was an understatement, but he pushed all reasons away and wrapped his arms around Mino's shoulders.

 

    "I'm glad you showed up when you did. They were kinda getting on my nerves. I'm never good at rejecting people too," Mino said as he bit the younger's boy lip. Taehyun moaned lowly as goose bumps started to rise. He kissed the older boy back and attempted to match his passion.

 

    "I- I was only there to, to tell you about my quiz result," Taehyun gasped lightly as Mino bit a small patch of the sensitive area on his neck.

 

    "Oh, I get it now. You scored and thinking of getting _some_ right? Got you covered, babe," Mino's kiss was so forceful that he had Taehyun pinned completely against the wall; it did not take long before their bodies began moving against one another's in a way that had them hardening in specific places.

 

It was Mino who broke the kiss first and rested his forehead against Taehyun's, his breath coming out in ragged gasps. Taehyun took longer in coming back to his sense but once he felt like he had control again, he attempted to look straight into the older boy's eyes.

 

    "What… what's wrong…? Why'd you stop?" The question came out as a series of huffs from the brunet.

 

Mino's surprised eyes met his, the tanned forearms resting against the wall on either side of the brunet's head gave the younger boy a huge sense of security. "Need to stop before we get carried away. We're at school remember?" Mino said, remembering how Taehyun felt wholly uncomfortable about people knowing of his sexual preferences. But the pulled was too strong, Taehyun glossy eyes called him in for more. He immediately dipped down to recapture Taehyun's slightly parted, pink lips. His tongue delved into the brunet's mouth before placing a particularly wet kiss against those lips and pulled back.

 

    "Sorry, I really want to stop but, I can't stop thinking about your jealous face just now; how good it felt to know that you cared," His lips met Taehyun's again and his tongue swiped across the brunet's lips. "You didn't even push me away when I clung to you. You were really trying to one-up those girls, didn't you?"

 

    "I saw you sometimes…" Taehyun panted as Mino's lips devoured his own. "...with those girls, our classmates. It's stupid but..." He licked the older boys lips, stroking the older boy's hair slowly. "...but I really, really hate it. You look good with anyone, but I want you to look good with me. I really want them, everyone, to know," Mino moaned helplessly at Taehyun's words, their pants felt incredibly tight. The older boy's lips rested against Taehyun's once more, breaking the kiss but keeping their lips touching. "You're mine."

 

    "I'm yours." Mino murmured, moving his body closer to Taehyun and pinned the brunet flushed up against the hard wall, making him gasped. "I'm so obsessed with you. There's no way I could be with anyone else. You're so beautiful, so perfect. I want to eat you up whole and keep you inside me. No one else can have you, Taehyun."

 

    "Mino…" Taehyun almost whimpered, his body trembling at the older boy's intensity and the way Mino was moving his body against the stiffness in his pants. He could not think of anything as his mouth let out a low moan.

 

Mino took the brunet's lips again, beginning another very desperate kiss. Taehyun did not care about anything in the world at that moment except for the way Mino was moving against him and the taste of his mouth on him. He had a dangerous thought of wanting the girls to find them like this, lips sealed together and body locked so tightly. He was scared of being found but also desired greatly for everyone to know that the older boy was his. The brunet decided to throw himself into the kiss just as fiercely as Mino seemed to have pulled back slightly, breaking their kiss. Taehyun whimpered before tilting forward to kiss Mino again; the older boy pulling himself away a little more.

 

Taehyun pouted when he thought the older boy was playing a little game and went in for another kiss roughly but the look in Mino's eyes told him something was not right.

 

    "Mino? What is it?" Taehyun asked, worried from the sudden change of mood.

 

Mino made a clicking sound with his tongue and turned his head to the right. Taehyun eyes followed the older boy's and his heart shot up into his throat. Around the corner, not too far from them, stood Kang Seungyoon.

 

    "S-Seungyoon.." Taehyun said his name. His heart beating so fast he felt as if he could faint. His brain was a jumbled mess of worry and fright. Seungyoon did not know about them, he did not even know about Taehyun. The real Taehyun who preferred guys or girls, who had been harboring feelings for his own best friend for years. What if Seungyoon sees this as a betrayal? What if Seungyoon hated him for being different? What if Seungyoon doesn't? What would Taehyun do then?

 

Seungyoon was looking at them with a conflicted frown marring his face. The usual kind smile he saved for the brunet was nowhere to be found. Instead, Seungyoon looked pained. He looked more than pained. He looked devastatingly hurt.

 

Taehyun held his breath as Seungyoon looked upon them, so much ran through Taehyun's head at that moment. He saw the unknown battle raging through his best friend's eyes as his gaze slowly shifted from hurt to subtle anger.

 

    "Get away from Taehyun, Song Mino," Seungyoon commanded calmly. Taehyun's eyes grew wide at what Seungyoon had just said. Surely Seungyoon did no think Mino was going to hurt him, did he?

 

    "Get away now or I'll bring you to the principal's office myself."

 

Mino scowled in disbelief. "Are you fucking kidding me?"

 

    "I'm not joking."

 

    "I sure hope not. What are you playing at?" Mino said, gritting his teeth. Both of his arms were still on the hard concrete wall, Taehyun eyed the older boy worriedly.

 

    "I said-"

 

    "I know what you said. I know you saw us just now. You're seeing us now. Why are you denying it?" Mino replied in a low timbre.

 

Taehyun held back a gasp at the angry look on the older boy's face and slowly slid his arms off, letting them fall to his sides. He looked straight into Seungyoon's eyes as the boy held his stare. The recent anger playing in his best friend clear eyes turned hesitant.

 

    "Mino, stop…" Taehyun whispered worriedly. The older boy seemed calm, that was why Taehyun was worried. He seemed calm enough, but Taehyun saw the intense storm brewing behind his gaze. He knew he had to get either one of them away before Mino snapped and did something that Taehyun would not want.

 

    "Are you pretending that what you saw just now wasn't real? What? You can't deal with it?" Mino took a step away from the brunet.

 

    "Mino, stop it!" Taehyun said again, raising his voice slightly.

 

    "I- I know what I saw," Seungyoon replied hesitantly. "Taehyun's not-"

 

    "Not what? You didn't think he could be this way? What was it that ticked you off? You having to found out this way? How he kept it a secret?" Mino had turned his body fully to face the other boy. The veins in his arms popping up.

 

    "Mino! What are you doing? Stop this!" Taehyun called out desperately.

 

    "I don't care about all that. I don't mind him being that way. But it's _you_ ," Seungyoon ground out finally, looking up at the older boy bravely.

 

" _Me,_ " Mino said. "You've got a problem with me being with him." He stated, more than questioned.

 

    "None could be worse than you," Seungyoon said. Taehyun took a step forward to stop Seungyoon. Everything was wrong, everything was going so wrong. "You're nothing but trouble. You'd only taint him if you're together."

 

Mino threw his head back and laughed harshly at the boy's words. He looked over again at the other boy and smirked nastily, "Oh, poor Kang Seungyoon. If only you knew just how much I've tainted Taehyun's soft, beautiful skin with this hands. How he moaned for it even. There's nothing he'd liked more than that."

 

    "Mino!" Taehyun shouted and slapped the older boy. His face was red in mortified embarrassment. He realized what he had done and froze in place. The older boy said nothing as he glared coldly at the ground, face turned away from the previous impact. "M-Mino, you- you can't just-"

 

His words died in his throat. Taehyun thought he had seen all of Mino's faces, recognized all of his stares. But nothing could have prepared him for the look the older boy was giving him at that moment. His heart constricted in his chest, so painful he cannot breathe. His hand trembled at his sides, wanting to touch the older boy but too scared of doing so.

 

Mino took a step back, and then another, and walked away, leaving both younger boys behind. A pained noise came from Taehyun as his body jerk forward to run after Mino but his hand was caught by his friend. Taehyun looked back at the confused frown on Seungyoon's face.

 

    "Don't you think... you owe me an explanation, Taehyun-ah?" Seungyoon asked gently.

 

Taehyun turned around to look at Mino's vanished sight and back down to the grip on his hand. He looked up at his friend and sighed sadly, "I- I don't know what to say. You saw everything, you can piece the story together."

 

    "Maybe. But, why didn't you tell me? I thought I was your best friend?" Seungyoon asked as a waning smile broke out on his face. Taehyun shrugged, looking anywhere but at the boy.

 

    "I've rarely seen my best friend after he had gotten himself attached. We'd go for weeks not seeing each other's faces, sometimes I don't even feel like we're living next door," Taehyun said, feeling a slight strain of hurt in him.

 

    "I-I'm sorry. I guess I got kind of carried away, with everything. It's not going well now, or most of the time but I shouldn't have let my problems be a cause to not spend time with you. I'm sorry, Taehyun," he said, slowly letting go of the brunet's hand. Taehyun frowned at the other boy's admission. It seemed like his best friend had been handling his own problems alone. Taehyun was currently a mess of worried feelings but he cannot help but took hold of the other boy's hand again.

 

    "Do you want to talk about it?" He asked sincerely. Seungyoon shook his head, eyes on the ground.

 

    "No. I want to know about you. When did this start? How did it start? Why him?" His best friend asked with more than just a hint of confusion.

 

Taehyun smiled gently, he said, "I don't know why it shouldn't be him. He's kind, and being me, as I am, it's not easy to get even that. I'm glad it's him. He's a lot more different than what the rumors said."

 

    "I doubt it."

 

    "Trust me, Seungyoon. Mino and I had been together since November," Taehyun confessed to his best friend.

 

    "That long?! You're lying," Seungyoon glared at him in disbelief.

 

    "It's true. You really shouldn't worry about me. It's my first relationship, yes, but it has been nothing but wonderful. Except for, just now. I really need to go find him. I can't, I need to apologize to him. I really, really like him. Please don't hate him, Seungyoon. Trust me on this," Taehyun begged the other boy, pulling his hand away but was caught again.

 

    "Taehyun. I- I don't know if I can accept this so easily but, it's not him I'm worried about, it's you," Seungyoon said, his warm hand enveloping Taehyun's whole. "I'm not against your relationship with him. I'm just worried for you. Mino had never gone through a relationship with a guy. His preferences had always been cute, clingy girls. I'm not saying that this could be a trial run for him but just be careful of your heart. Even if he is as nice as you said, soon when he realized there are things you couldn't give him, I don't want to see you being sad and blaming yourself for it."

 

Taehyun stared at the other boy, taking his hand away from within the tight grasp.

 

    "Taehyunie-"

 

    "I know. I know from the start how I'm different from his exes. I know, Seungyoon. But, I cannot _not_ try. I cannot _not_ fight for him, for me," the brunet said as he took slow steps away. "Thank you, for worrying about me. I know how to take care of myself. Always had," he said and turned around. He ran towards the entrance of the school building.

 

After all this time, it was surprising that he still felt a bit of hate towards Seungyoon's nickname for him.

 

* * *

 

 

Taehyun approached the silent classroom timidly as if he was trying to enter a lion's den. He stopped at the classroom door, looking directly at Mino who was sitting in his seat at the very back of the room, staring out the opened window. Taehyun took a tentative step inside and walked forward a little unsurely. Standing near the older boy, he grabbed the chair on the table one row in front of Mino, swiftly turned it around and sat down gingerly, not uttering a word.

 

Taehyun watched Mino silently gnawing his jaw, guessing that Mino was still struggling with his anger. The cold stare was still there in his eyes. Taehyun bit his fingernails as a nervous habit, watching in silence for a moment longer before feeling the need to say something to calm the fuming older boy.

 

    "I know you don't deserve any of this bullshit..." Taehyun said lowly, eyes watching his boyfriend's face closely. "But I'm sorry for hitting you."

 

Silence.

 

Taehyun frowned then looked down at his own shaking hands. "I was embarrassed. I didn't want Seungyoon to know about me, at least not that way. I'm sorry."

 

Mino's jaw clenched a few times before he parted his lips and took a deep breath in. "You're right." the older boy said lowly, eyes now roaming over the desk between them. "I don't deserve all of this bullshit."

 

Taehyun frowned and looked away from his own trembling hands in his lap, trying to hold back oncoming tears. He swallowed, "Mino?"

 

Mino's eyes lifted up to meet Taehyun's before looking away. "I knew I acted like an asshole, Taehyun. You, me, him; it wasn't a combination that I like. I feel too much, it's tiring."

 

Taehyun felt a chill ran through his body and fought off the tremble. "Mino, I don't feel anything for Seungyoon anymore."

 

    "Maybe. But it doesn't hurt any less that you'd choose to stand on his side instead of mine." Mino said, his voice barely able to control the pain behind his words.

 

It was Taehyun's turn to clenched his jaw. What was he supposed to say? Taehyun did not want for his true self to be known, it scared him to the bones at how things could have easily gone south a few moments back. Seungyoon could have easily looked at him in disgust instead of confusion. Seungyoon could have shouted at him for being gay instead of telling him how worried he was for the brunet. Mino obviously did not understand that, the fear and the pain of being a homosexual.

 

    "I don't want any more people to know about me…" was all the brunet uttered without blowing up himself.

 

    "Fine. Who else should I hide myself from? I can't even show my feelings for you to the whole world?" Mino asked, eyes now burning with anger instead of pain.

 

    "It's not that easy. Being with me is not easy, you've learned that." Taehyun answered hoping that the older boy would just understand.

 

    "Yes, I did. Doesn't mean I'd took it silently. I feel what I want, no one can say anything about it." Mino's voice had slowly risen in anger.

 

Taehyun bit his lower lip and shook his head. "Of course you're free to feel what you feel. I do too. But that doesn't mean we don't have the responsibility towards other people. Sure, people always say to mind your own business all the time. But these are people; they see, they hear, they talk. All I want is to not be in the center of anyone's attention negatively. I don't want anyone to be hurt because of me."

 

Mino shook his head and let his eyes drop down to the desk. "I believe you when you said it's hard, being you. I understand, Taehyun. I'm also not lying when I asked for you to trust me. I saw the denial in Seungyoon's eyes. I only said what I said because I needed to make sure of what he hates. Whether it was me or you. And I don't want it to be you."

 

    "I can take care of my own self," Taehyun said, his voice picking up a firm undertone before it disappeared. "I'm just, I'm asking you to not get carried away. I mean it when I said I don't want anyone to know about me. Especially my mom."

 

Mino sat back on his chair silently, gazing at the brunet with mild pain in his eyes. The older boy sighed and turned his gaze away at the sky outside. Taehyun took hold of Mino's hand on top of the table, lacing their fingers and stares into their joined hands, thoughts so far away from there.

 

Mino had been so opened about their relationship to the people he loves in his life. He was not ashamed, not afraid, of showing his heart. He has the strongest support from his surrounding, but not Taehyun. Not his friends, not his family. Not his mother.

 

Taehyun was lucky with Seungyoon but Mrs. Nam was a different story altogether. Truthfully, the brunet was still amazed at how accepting his grandmother was of his and Mino's relationship, his grandmother had always been telling Taehyun to _just be happy._

 

Taehyun's mother instead was a divorcée and raised her two sons alone. She had been getting dark looks from people at their old hometown for working two shifts a day in order to support them instead of staying at home as a housewife. She was an outcast in her own family for failing to secure and maintain a good relationship with her husband. Nobody cared that Taehyun's dad was a failed businessman who slowly turned thug and abandoned his family in the end.

 

People, in general, would not comment on the root of the problem because they did not see, they would only criticize the outcome. And Mrs. Nam's strong personality and forbidding countenance were the results of her many years of hardship. She would not tolerate any bullshit from anyone, not even from her sons. Taehyun knew that people were already weary of them as a failing family, and letting himself out of the closet to be in a spotlight as a homosexual in a very rigid society was a one-way ticket to his mother's wrath. A concept he would rather avoid for the rest of his hollow life.

 

He had a feeling Mino was uncomfortable with keeping their relationship a secret from Taehyun's mother, but he was understanding enough to know that this was a sensitive subject to the brunet. Mino often freely gave him affection when they were in the Song household but he toned down and acted like Taehyun's dependable older hyung in front of Nam's family instead. Taehyun appreciated both gestures but the latter treatment, even though it was pleasant and surprisingly considerate, gave him a pang of sadness. The younger boy honestly wanted his family to know of his relationship, to accept Mino as his boyfriend, similar to how his heart had accepted it long ago too.

 

* * *

 

 

It was the annual Seoul Fireworks Festival. Mino, Taehyun and some of their friends went out to the Han River to joined the excited, massive crowd there. Seungyoon was there too, he and Seulgi had finally broken up. Taehyun did not know who had walked away first but he would not let his best friend wallow in self-misery any longer than necessary. Mino had made a face when he saw Taehyun showed up with the glum-looking prefect in tow but did not comment any further and Taehyun was glad for that. Mino tolerated the smart boy and that was about the length he would extend his kindness. Taehyun noted it might be slight jealously that had been preventing the older boy from actually getting to know the wonderful Kang Seungyoon. He should find a remedy to that soon.

 

Coincidently, that night was also the day he and Mino celebrated their 300 Days Anniversary. Taehyun was surprised at both their long relationship and at the many dating anniversaries in Korean culture. It was a hassle but Mino seemed really into them so Taehyun would obligingly follow along. He invited the older boy out tonight, having treated him to nice food and a set of matching earrings. Mino was elated, he clung onto Taehyun for the rest of the night. They reached the river a few minutes before the show starts. The place was crowded and noisy, a combination that Taehyun hated a lot but when he had finally been able to see the beautiful display of fireworks for the first time with his boyfriend and best friend, it made up for any discomfort he had earlier.

 

He could not believe how his days had managed to change so much just by having Mino by his side. He smiled pleasantly at the older boy who seemed fixated on staring at his face instead of the fireworks. He raised his delicate eyebrow in question and Mino grab a hold of his hand, asking the brunet to follow him as they separated themselves from the crowd.

 

They found a less crowded area further down the river and Mino suddenly pulled him into a hug, hidden slightly away from prying eyes underneath a shadowy tree. Taehyun was startled and blushed heavily, his eyes glanced around for any passersby.

 

    "Mino? What's wrong? Are you okay?" Taehyun asked carefully, surprised at the sudden contact. Mino nodded his head, face buried between the brunet's shoulder and neck.

 

    "O-okay. Are you sick? Was the crowd too much to handle?" Taehyun asked some more, returning the older boy's embrace. He felt Mino shaking his head slowly, still refusing to talk.

 

    "Oh, are you going to tell me what's wrong then?" Taehyun asked, soothingly stroking his hand up and down the older boy's broad back.

 

    "I love you."

 

Taehyun felt like time had stood still. The sound of distant fireworks and murmured crowd barely reaching them. The night breeze blew softly against the swaying grass and his hand stopped moving altogether.

 

    "I love you, Nam Taehyun," Mino said again, his voice barely a whisper and his grip grew tighter around the brunet's body.

 

    "Mino," Taehyun breathed back his name. His eyes were misty with a torrent mess of unshed emotions. Mino pulled away and smiled guardedly at him.

 

    "It's our three hundred days anniversary. I still can't believe it. I know you're scared, about a lot of things, Taehyun-ah, but just for tonight," Mino said as he pulled out a small box from his coat pocket. "Would you wear this ring for me? Just so I could show it to the world that you're mine?" The older boy requested as he slid a simple gold band on Taehyun's ring finger. He slid the other one into his own and intertwined their hands together, smiling brightly at their hands. Taehyun stared openly at their matching couple rings and cracked a huge smile. It was beautiful, it was unreal, his heart bursting with so much happiness.

 

    "Okay, okay," he breathed out a reply. "Thank you, Song Mino," Taehyun said and kissed the older boy silly, laughing when they almost stumbled down from their eagerness.

 

When they were both busy making out and having sex at a secluded area behind some trees, they received text messages from their friends saying that the rest would be making their ways to other places to hang out. Both boys ended up spending a great time together that night, Taehyun snapping pictures of random sceneries with his phone and Mino off playing with little kids in the crowd somewhere. It was almost midnight when they were walking back hand in hand towards Taehyun's apartment complex. They stopped at their usual corner street that was rarely used by the residents, smiling at each other like idiots.

 

Taehyun really did not want to go home, he wished the night would never end. There was silence for a moment before Mino took a small step closer to the brunet and cradled his cheek in his palm. Taehyun's eyes glossed over in contentment as his lips formed a shy, small smile. "I'm really glad that you're mine," Mino confessed quietly.

 

Taehyun was not able to respond, he was completely entranced by the warm gaze in the other's eyes. Mino did not seem to require any as he leaned in a little closer and barely touched his lips against Taehyun's. The younger boy went to kiss him back before he realized that Mino was not exactly kissing him at the moment, he was simply brushing his lips over the brunet's. Taehyun's heart thudded in his chest as he felt the older boy's soft lips gently glide over his own and almost immediately his body began to respond from the intimate gesture. It was much more erotic than their usual hungry kisses.

 

Mino paused in his motion, keeping his lips barely pressed up against Taehyun's. The brunet's head was positively reeling from all of it and he could not hold back a soft whimper that escaped him as his body begged for something more. As soon as Taehyun let out that keening noise, Mino's lips pressed forward and captured Taehyun's own in a strong, passionate kiss; his tongue immediately seeking entrance into the brunet's mouth and stroking Taehyun's own as soon as he entered.

 

Taehyun let out a moan as Mino took control of the kiss and let his body be drawn closer to the older boy. He wrapped his arms around Mino's neck as the older boy wrapped his own around Taehyun's waist. The younger boy was sure that it would not be long before Mino felt what exactly he was doing to their heated bodies.

 

There was no space between them as their kiss turned more demanding, causing the brunet to moaned once more. Mino had total control of him and Taehyun was all too happy to let himself fall victim to the passion that was building between them again. He felt Mino's hardness between his legs and the older boy hand had stolen itself underneath the brunet's clothes to stroke his nipple lightly. Another throaty moan escaped the brunet and into Mino's mouth before he distinctly felt Mino thrust up against him. The pleasure was too strong, causing the brunet to pull away from the kiss in desperate need of air.

 

    "W-we can't, do it here," Taehyun panted quickly into the cold air. Mino rested his forehead against Taehyun's, keeping his eyes closed. Their bodies were still pinned against one another's as they stayed still, both fought to steady their breathing.

 

    "Sorry, you tastes so good to me," Mino said lowly, still keeping his eyes closed.

 

    "It's okay, I want you too…" Taehyun replied back, sighing deeply as his heart slowly settled down. He already had the older boy, could still feel the proof of their earlier coupling deep in his bowels. He does not know why he kept craving for more.

 

Mino opened his eyes and looked directly into the brunet's, "Probably shouldn't be doing this in front of your house."

 

Taehyun closed his eyes and leaned his head in the crook of Mino's neck, "You kissed me all the time here when we got back from school."

 

Mino ran a hand through the brunet hair and leaned his head against Taehyun's, "True. But tonight I feel like doing so much more and it's dangerous. We could get caught for public indecency."

 

    "Never stopped you before," Taehyun replied cheekily, kissing at the older boy's delicious neck.

 

Mino hummed pleasantly back and said, "If I didn't know any better, it seemed like you want me to fuck you silly in this alleyway."

 

Taehyun grinned and kissed the older boy again, exploring the hot mouth and twirling his tongue hotly against the other. He was enjoying their kiss too much that neither of them managed to hear the approaching footsteps in the quiet night.

 

    "Taehyun," a stern, womanly voiced called out to him. Mino and Taehyun quickly separated themselves from each other as if they were made out of burning coals. Taehyun looked over alarmingly at his mother, standing a little further away from them, behind her stood his grandmother and little brother in their heavy coats.

 

    "M-mom," Taehyun said in obvious distressed.

 

Taehyun felt like puking. He was so shocked and scared that his already fair complexion turned deathly pale, standing there in front of his imposing mother. Mrs. Nam was by far the most wan-looking and indifferent parent in their circle of friends; quiet and kept mostly to herself but that night, with her stance wide and her eyes narrowed, her aura screamed of her tough authority, turning the night air a few degrees colder. Before Taehyun could even think of cooking up any kind of adequate explanation, she was already looking at them both with her diamond-hard gaze, petrifying her son in place.

 

Miraculously, Mino who was ever polite and respectful towards his elders stood his ground, returning her gaze evenly. There was a gleam of surprise in her eyes that spoke of her acknowledgment of the older boy but it was not enough to deter her from her anger.

 

    "Taehyun," his mother called out to him coldly. "Are you out of your mind?" She asked. Taehyun's eyes were glued to the ground, trying to make himself smaller, trying to disappear altogether.

 

    "Why are you doing this? Why this relationship? Is it for the novelty of it? Do you want attention?" His mother continued, tone steadily growing hard.

 

Taehyun's little brother; sweet obedient Donghyun, came up to his seething mother, pulling at her arm timidly, "Mom, please, don't get mad," he pleaded, voice hitching. "I love Taehyun-hyung. Mino-hyung plays with me too when I'm lonely. I don't know what's wrong but please don't get mad at them," Donghyun said, his voice wobbling. He too was surprised when he saw them kissing but he love both older boys equally, he wanted to protect them too.

 

The older brunet felt tears gathering behind his eyes; Taehyun wants to run away, to not have to see the look of disappointment in his mother's eyes. His greatest fear had come and he was not prepared for it. He was not prepared for a lot of things and his guilt for doing this to his family; for simply being himself, for falling in love with another boy, spiked higher. He could feel that his mother's fury was as hot as the coldest ice, he dare not raised even a fraction of his head up to meet her eyes. His grandmother took his troubled looking brother away in her soft embrace, looking at the couple with a set of wise, patient gaze.

 

    "Taehyun, have I not done enough for you? For us?" His mother asked the brunet. "Was all my sacrifices to make sure my sons would not be the mock of town like I was means nothing to you? We have a better life here, a clean slate. Do you want to throw that away? For this? For him?" She asked in mounting distraught, pointing an accusing finger at the older boy.

 

    "Mom, please," Taehyun said finally. _It's not Mino's fault. He's innocent. He's not wrong. He's too nice, too kind. I dragged him into this. I'm the one who's wrong. I'm the weird one._

 

Taehyun wanted to say all that. He wanted to defend his boyfriend, to make them see that Mino was as pure as any other normal kid. He was in the wrong, he was the one who harbored feelings for his own gender. He was the one who tainted the older boy. The one whom society deemed as _sick._

 

    "H-He had nothing to do with this. It's not his fault, mom," he tried to tell her but her hard gaze made him flinched in fear.

 

    "I don't need excuses, Taehyun," she warned him. "You," she hissed angrily at the older boy. Taehyun grabbed onto Mino's hand desperately, wanting to pull him away, wanting to shield him from his mother's wrath.

 

    "I know of your stories, Song Mino. I heard rumors and some of them are not all that good," she said. Mino bit his lip so that he would not blurt out anything unnecessary, not wanting to damage the situation any further. "But I know very well to not assume anything. I gave you a chance, I invited you into my home, I trusted you to be a friend to my family. But know this, what you are doing now; I do not tolerate anyone rubbing dirt on my family's faces," she stated intensely.

 

Under the lone street light, at the empty alleyway and holding herself strong; Mrs. Nam looked every bit the formidable woman who worked day and night to support her family alone. The stern lines on her face spoke of former beauty, her veiny hands and plain nails expressed her hard work, it was only her painful and distraught gaze that gave away of just how rattled she actually felt of the situation.

 

    "Leave him."

 

    "Mom--",  "Mrs. Nam, I--"

 

    "Just! Stop this, both of you. I had a hunch that my oldest son is different than the rest, but we will try and fix it, together. But if you're the cause of this; Song Mino, then I greatly advise for you to leave. You only dated girls, I know. After the craze of dating my son is gone, you're going to leave him and carry on with your life normally. You'd go back to your girls as if this had never happened. As if he, never happened. You'll be okay but not him. Not my son. Taehyun will hurt, and there will only be us to pick up the pieces. You know this thing you've got going on won't be long-term, so just leave, now," she said in finality and grabbed onto Taehyun's arm firmly, hand shaking as she tried to dragged her son away. Taehyun whined in protest and dug his foot, refusing to move.

 

    "Mom, please, listen to me. I like him! I like Mino and he's my boyfriend and I don't want to leave him."

 

    "I don't want to hear any of this."

 

    "Mom! He's the best thing that ever happened to me and I don't want to lose him!" he shouted, pulling at her arm desperately.

 

    "Taehyun, please," his mother pleaded in sorrow. "You're just confused. We can fix this-"

 

    "Mom! There's nothing to fix! I'm not, broken. This is who I am. This is me, mom. If it wasn't for Mino then I would still be hoping for Seungyoon, if in the end it's not Seungyoon then it'll be some other guy. I'm not sick! And- and they're not wrong. I just, I'm me. I'm sorry I turned out this way but I'm just me, mom," he pleaded for her understanding. His mother's face was painted in pain, her eyes red from unshed tears.

 

    "Please, mom. For the first time in my life, I-- I am honestly happy, for being myself. I would never have felt this way if it wasn't for Mino. I can't do this alone," he said, almost at his breaking point. "Please, don't send him away," he whispered harshly to the ground, his vision blurry from having to hold back his tears.

 

Mino stepped up beside the brunet, his hand that had been holding on to the younger boy's tightened by a fraction. Taehyun heard the soft clinked of their rings and looked up grievously at his boyfriend, but despite the grim atmosphere, the older boy only gave him a tender smile. Taehyun could not stop the warm tranquillity that seeped into his body when Mino gave his hand a squeeze, their laced fingers entangling together even further.

 

    "Mrs. Nam, please hear me out," Mino asked gently, his voice subdued and stance relaxed as if not wanting to scare either side. "I admit that my past is not as clean as I want them to be," he said carefully, slowly trying to turn Taehyun's mother's attention towards him. "I may not be the best partner for anyone, not just Taehyun, with all the things that I'm lacking as a person. It's true that Taehyun and I are still young, we're still immature in your eyes. And... I cannot promise Taehyun anything, and I haven't think very far ahead about our future together, but.. there's one thing that I'm absolutely certain of right now," Mino said, his calm voice carrying as much conviction as he could. His other hand grabbed onto Taehyun's shaking one and warmed them up, smiling at the brunet.

 

    "I would love to see next year's fireworks with him, if Taehyun would still have me," he said, staring contentedly into the younger's eyes.

 

Taehyun took in a sobbing gasp, he did not even notice that his mother had let his arm go, a tiny glint of hope glistens within her eyes. Taehyun hid his face behind Mino's shoulder as he started to cry silently. The older boy stroke his head, hushing him in a calming manner. Mino returned Mrs. Nam's careful gaze, she seemed to have made up her mind. She nodded her head at him, silently approving of their relationship, for now at least.

 

    "Come now, Donghyun, mother. Let's go in," she said, her tone kinder than it was before. She walked into the apartment complex without looking back.

 

Donghyun let go of his grandmother's hand and ran towards the older boys, hugging them tightly while crying. Mino laughed warmly at the little boy's show of affection and ruffled the top of his head. Taehyun chuckled at his brother's mussed up head and kneeled down to fix his beanie.

 

    "I don't know if everything is okay but I love you, hyung. And I like Mino-hyung a lot too. So please don't cry," Donghyun said when Taehyun brought him in for a hug. The older of the two nodded his head and hid his tears within the little boy's fluffy jacket.

 

    "Thank you, Donghyun-ah. I love you too," Taehyun said, smiling when his little brother beamed up at his rare confession. Mino kneeled down and flicked the boy's redden nose playfully.

 

    "You're the one who's crying, pipsqueak," he teased beside Taehyun.

 

    "I'm not a pipsqueak!" Donghyun replied with a furious pout. The older boys chuckled warmly at that. Taehyun's grandmother came forward and called out to the brunet. The younger boy quickly stood up and walked over to her, extending his arm for the frail woman to hang on to. Mino picked Donghyun up and carried the boy closer to them, wanting to hear what the older lady had to say.

 

    "Taehyun-ah, listen to your grandma. Don't be sad, don't blame yourself for being different. You have grown up to be a fine young man. I'm happy that my grandson is a wonderful person," his grandmother said, patting his hand gently with a warm smile.

 

    "Don't be mad at your mother. Your mother was like you when she was young. But her heart was broken too many times. She only wants to protect you. You understand that, right?" She said, Taehyun's eyes widen from her words but nodded his head slowly nonetheless.

 

    "I have been in your mother's shoes as a worried parent, so just promise me one thing, Taehyun-ah. Whatever happens, do not let the most important thing that your mother gave you, your heart, be broken. She made it for you for nine months, no one should have the right to break it in less than a minute. Not someone else, not even yourself."

 

Taehyun bit his lip and blinked back the sudden onslaught of tears, he nodded his head silently a couple of times and hugged his grandmother close.

 

    "Thank you, grandma," he whispered gently. His grandmother patted him on his back and mentioned for Mino to come closer. The older boy slowly lowered Donghyun down and approached the frail woman, Taehyun walking back to grab his little brother's hand.

 

    "Hey, grandma. Aren't cha cold? We should get inside so you'll be more comfortable," Mino said in a smile, lending his arm for her to support herself on as they slowly walked towards the entrance of Nam's family apartment complex.

 

    "I'm okay. Would you listen to what I have to say?" She asked the taller boy, patting his arm as affectionately as she did Taehyun's.

 

    "Yeah sure, anything you want," Mino replied, coming to a stop near the entrance. Taehyun and Donghyun stood near, watching the two with curious looks.

 

    "Mino, I've never met anyone as kind and patient as you other than that sweetheart, Kang Seungyoon. But unlike him, you gave Taehyun the courage to be himself, freely and I thank you for that. You took care of him, you took care of us, and you never asked for anything in return. Someone as kind as you deserves only happiness. I pray that you will always be strong and true to yourself," she said, patting his cold cheek adoringly as if he was her own grandson.

 

    "Your family are nice people, Song Mino. Getting married and having children are one of the most valuable duties we have in this world. It's an honorable duty that every son and daughter carry for their parents. Many people won't understand this relationship because of that, our people are not ready for you both. This relationship will be a heavy burden to you and the people you care about. People will talk, some will harm you, most will not try to understand," she said as her grip on his arm tightened further, looking up at the apartment complex as if searching for something.

 

    "Grandma?" Mino called out softly, a worried frown marring his face. The old lady let out a small sigh, shaking her head to herself. She then looked up at the taller boy, eyes clear as the night sky.

 

    "What Taehyun's mother and I ask of you, is for you to truly understand your importance in everyone's lives. Whether you yearn for Taehyun's heart or for your sense of duty to your parents, it's up to you. You won't be able to please everyone, and it will hurt. But be true to your own heart and hope for the best. It will only get harder from here. Be strong, Song Mino," she said wisely. With a warm smile to the couple, Taehyun's grandmother took Donghyun's little hand and disappeared together inside the warmly lit lobby of the apartment complex.

 

* * *

 

 

That night, alone in his bed, Taehyun found himself reliving the past months, dwelling in the sweet memories and smiling to himself. Absently, he wondered at how far Mino had managed to change for them.

 

Song Mino was not into guys in the first place but the older boy would do his best to learn and accept the ways of loving Taehyun. Mino was amazing, he was too pure. Taehyun had an ugly feeling that any level-headed person could have easily won the older boy's heart if they had stayed long enough to appreciate the person that was Song Mino.

 

He tried to decipher the odd looks Mino had given him during the fireworks display, how his heart soar in elation at the older boy's quiet confession. He then remembered the fond look Mino would have when he play around with little kids, small strangers who screamed too loud and laughed too happily.

 

He wanted to understand why Mino had refused to let go of his hand when his mother had confronted them, why he had taken to holding on tighter and intertwining their fingers more. The seriousness of Mino's words to his mother blew his mind away. But then he remembered Mino's family, how kind and loving they were. How Mino would swim across the ocean to proof his love and worth as the Song family's only son.

 

Song Mino's confession to him had made him realized the heaviness of his feelings for the older boy. He like Song Mino, love him even.

 

 So much so that he felt undeserving.

 

He felt as if he had tricked the older boy, their relationship started as a farce. Mino was straight, he only ever dated girls. Mino was his family's only son. Mino adores children. Mino was kind to everyone and shares his love. Mino could have been with anyone. Why was he still with him?

 

 

_You only dated girls. After the craze of dating my son is gone, you're going to leave him and carry on with your life normally. You'd go back to your girls as if this had never happened._

_Couple rings. It's cliché and the most boring gift but at least you'd get to show off your relationship to others._

_It's scary to be out in the open. Sometimes it's okay to never come out too. It's not something to force. If you're not ready then you're not ready._

_I've never met anyone as kind and patient as you. Getting married and having children are one of the most valuable duties we have in this world. It's an honorable duty that every son and daughter carry for their parents._

_I love Taehyun-hyung. Mino-hyung plays with me too when I'm lonely. I don't know what's wrong but please don't get mad at them._

_I thought my brother had finally fallen in love with a mature woman, it was a surprise that you turned out to be a boy his age instead. Honestly, I believe my brother only needed someone kind and strong-headed to take care of him and vice versa._

_I'm not against your relationship with him. I'm just worried for you. Mino had never gone through a relationship with a guy. His preferences had always been cute, clingy girls. I'm not saying that this could be a trial run for him but just be careful of your heart. Even if he is as nice as you said, soon when he realized there are things you couldn't give him, I don't want to see you being sad and blaming yourself for it._

_I love you, Nam Taehyun._

 

Taehyun would never forget that night, for it was the night he had first fell wholeheartedly in love and also the night he first ended a relationship with someone.

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :(  
> But Happy Valentines Day!


	4. Transorbit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mino's gaze was always there; warm, comfortable and satisfying but now, now there was nothing. It was what Taehyun had wanted. It was what he had expected after breaking up. He just was not expecting the feeling to be as if he was slowly being choked off of his oxygen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbetaed.  
> Proper tags are proper now.
> 
> I would like to inform the readers that even though this chapter (and maybe the previous one too?) have slight explicit sexual content, I would not change the rating from M -> E. Mainly because this story centers heavily around the characters' point of views and emotions in their journeys in same-gendered relationship that I considered to be Mature instead of their sexual endeavors (which could be categorized as Explicit), and I would like for the main point to stay that way =D
> 
> Thank you very much for your understanding. And with that statement out of the way, onward with the final chapter!

 

 

_"Hey, why are you calling so late at night? You should go to sleep, babe."_

 

_"Yeah, I know. I just..."_

 

_"You...just?"_

 

_"It's nothing.. What are you doing? Not sleeping yet?"_

 

_"Overwatch, hold up, Seunghoon-hyung said to say hi. He's online too."_

 

_"Oh? H-hi."_

 

_"Yeah. So what's up?"_

 

_"Mino, I don't know how to say this,"_

 

_"What is it? Shit, we're losing. Whatever I'm logging out."_

 

_"Mino..."_

 

_"Yeah, okay. I'm here. What is it, Taehyun-ah?"_

 

_"I think- Mino, I- ah, I'm sorry. I can't-"_

 

_"Woah, hey Taehyun-ah, what's wrong?"_

 

_"Mino, I think... We should- I think we need to, Mino,"_

 

_"Taehyun? What's wrong? Are you alright?"_

 

_"Mino, please don't hate me,"_

 

_"What? What are you saying? I love you, I could never hate you. What's wrong? Seriously."_

 

_"Mino, you know that I care about you, a lot. You're so important to me. I really, really care about you,"_

 

_"Taehyun..."_

 

_"And it's because I care about you that I need to do this. I'm sorry Mino. Please understand. You need to understand."_

 

_"Taehyun... What are you trying to say?"_

 

_"Mino... I- I think we, we should,"_

 

_"...no."_

 

_"No?"_

 

_"No. If you're going to suggest something stupid then no."_

 

_"Mino, please. You need to understand-"_

 

_"No! This is bullshit, what are you even saying? Why now?!"_

 

_"I'm sorry, Mino. I really am. But we need to end this. I need to let you go."_

 

_"Fucking hell Taehyun, what? Are you joking?"_

 

_"No! Mino, please. We need to break up."_

 

_"Why? What the fuck are you even saying?"_

 

_"This is wrong. I don't deserve you. You need someone better than me. Some other girl who's kind and cute and loving-"_

 

_"Fuck that shit, tell me the real reason you're dumping me Taehyun."_

 

_"I'm not dumping you! I'm letting you go! Don't you see? We don't belong together, I have nothing to give you. You deserve a lot more than just me. Don't you remember? We started out as a joke. This is not you, our relationship started out as a farce and now it's getting way too serious. We need to stop this."_

 

_"Are you listening to yourself right now? What kind of a sick mind game are you-"_

 

_"No! I'm not intentionally trying to hurt you, Mino. Just please understand. I care about you and I'm doing what's best for us. You wouldn't get it now but soon when we're far down the road, you'll freaking see. You'll get why I'm doing this for you."_

 

_"This is stupid. You're unbelievable. No. I'm not down with this. Just, go to sleep Taehyun. I'll see you tomorrow morning and fuck some senses into you, fucker."_

 

_"Mino, no. I'm saying this to you now. We're over. We're done. I'm letting you go. Please, just go. Please."_

 

_"See you tomorrow."_

 

_"Mino-"_

 

* * *

 

 

Tomorrow came and Taehyun hid himself all day in his room, refusing to answer Mino's calls on his phone and telling his grandmother to not let Mino in their complex. The intercom surprisingly buzzed only twice that day, Taehyun thought Mino would be more insistent than that. But then again Taehyun did send his grandmother as his shield and Mino had always hated to be a nuanced to anybody. His phone though was a different story altogether. It did not stop ringing, he had more voicemails than he had ever received in his life, his messages were stacking up and there were even notifications on his various social apps accounts.

 

Taehyun scrolled through his messages, reading Mino's texts that were varying from angry rants, to worried questions, to suggestive pleas for them to make up. The brunet tossed his phone to the bed as his little brother tentatively made way into his room.

 

    "Mino-hyung said to tell you that he's waiting for you outside, on the corner street. Said he wouldn't go home til you show up, hyung," Donghyun said while looking up at the brunet with clear, innocent eyes. Taehyun swallowed nervously and looked away from his little brother, trying to busy himself by pretending to tidy up his study table.

 

    "Ah, okay. You saw him?" Taehyun tried asking as casually as possible.

 

    "Yeah, when I was walking back from the park. I took the shortcut," Donghyun explained plainly. He watched his brother grabbing at his stationery randomly before putting them back down and picking them back up again. "Well, aren't you going to see Mino-hyung?"

 

    "Hm," Taehyun gave a vague respond to the boy. The brunet's phone was still flashing every now and then from Mino's constant calls, buzzing quietly on his bed. Donghyun tilted his head to the bed then back at his brother again, making a quizzical noise of his own.

 

    "Your phone's ringing, hyung. Are you avoiding Mino-hyung? Why? Did you get into a fight?" Donghyun asked further, not liking the scene he was currently witnessing in the least.

 

    "Donghyun, it's nothing. Please don't ask me any more questions," Taehyun said, refusing to look at his brother. The little boy bit his lip, he wanted whatever that was going on between the two big boys fixed. He thought what happened yesterday night had been over. Maybe there were lingering problems between them that were making them fight.

 

    "Hyung, are you okay? Is it about yesterday night? You know mom is not angry at both of you anymore, right? You don't have to be afraid of mom," Donghyun tried to help his stressed out brother, even a little.

 

    "Donghyun, I told you, it's nothing. Just leave it okay? Go back to your room," Taehyun said slowly, fisting both hands at his sides.

 

The little boy stared at the flashing phone on his brother's bed quietly, he scrubbed his toe against the wooden floor and mumbled towards Taehyun, "Did you guys had a fight after we left? I thought you guys like each other. Are you afraid, hyung? Are you afraid that mom would get angry again? You don't love Mino-hyung anymore?"

 

Taehyun slammed one of his textbooks on the table forcefully, making the little boy jumped in place. He turned around and shouted at his brother, "For fuck's sake Donghyun I told you to leave it! It's nothing! Get out of my room now!"

 

Taehyun watched as his little brother bursts into tears and ran out the room, loud sobs echoing down the hall before he heard the loud slam of Donghyun's bedroom door. Taehyun felt like Satan for blowing up at his brother. It was obvious that the boy was only worried for him and Mino. He heard his grandmother knocking on Donghyun's door and coaxing the boy to open it.

 

Taehyun was ashamed of himself, he quickly put on his sweater and rushed towards the front door, refusing to stop when his grandmother was calling for him. Taehyun left the house and knocked on his neighbor's door insistently until the lock slid open.

 

Seungyoon eyes widen at seeing a distraught looking Taehyun in front of his apartment door, "Taehyunie? What is it? You look like a mess."

 

    "Can I hang out here for a while?" Taehyun asked timidly, looking down on the floor.

 

    "Y-yeah sure, come in. Are you okay?" Seungyoon said as he watched his best friend walked listlessly into his house, closing his front door in the process.

 

    "No. I'm not okay," Taehyun said as he stood in the middle of the living room, Seungyoon's mother was probably at work.

 

    "Oh, okay um. You wanna talk about it? Is there someone I should go punch or something for you?" Seungyoon said with a small smile, trying to lighten up Taehyun's mood.

 

Taehyun glanced over at his best friend and shrugged tiredly, "No, it's nothing. Let's just, hang out."

 

    "Yeah. Yeah okay, let's do that," Seungyoon said kindly, complying with his friend's sudden request in a heartbeat.

 

* * *

 

 

Taehyun had been camping out in Seungyoon's room for the entire week. Their school break was almost over and the coming Monday would mark their new semester term, they would be third-year students once the school open.

 

Taehyun missed Mino something fierce for the past days; he missed the stupid jokes, the warm touches, the spontaneous kisses, the older boy's charming laughs. The brunet ignored all phone calls and messages from Mino but kept scrolling through their pictures together on his phone until everything seemed utterly redundant. He was failing at this, at breaking up. He even searched online for pieces of advice, things similar to Break Up 101 to help him get through his current situation.

 

Seungyoon had learned of Taehyun's problems and tried to be supportive of the brunet in any way he can. The shaggy-haired boy gave him logical advice similar to the posts the brunet reads online. Seungyoon offered to spend time together, which those posts suggested too when they said to spend time with close friends and family. Seungyoon told Taehyun to forget about his phone for awhile, which the posts had amazingly said the same about distancing yourself from your ex if possible. Seungyoon probably wrote one of those posts himself.

 

Pushing the suspicion aside, the brunet was glad that Seungyoon had stayed with him all week long in order for the brunet to not feel depressed. Seungyoon remembered how Taehyun had been there for him when he broke up with Seulgi, so the shaggy-haired boy vowed to do the same. Seungyoon wishes Taehyun could bounce back soon, he was accustomed to a moody Taehyun but not a heartbroken one. He would try his best to be helpful.

 

On Monday, Seungyoon had to go very earlier to school as one of the student representatives, Taehyun had asked if he could probably tag along. His friend nodded in understanding, Seungyoon was not surprised by the request in the least. Mino would probably be around their apartment complex early in the morning, trying to catch the brunet on their way to school and Taehyun would very much like to avoid that. He was not ready for a confrontation yet, or ever.

 

Taehyun was restless all the way to school, he kept looking back behind them as if waiting for something to jump out in the dark, dawn light to catch them. Once they had arrived at the empty school hall, they searched for their names on the bulletin board and Taehyun was infinitely more relaxed after learning that he and Seungyoon were in the same class while Mino was in a different one for their third year. Taehyun was a bit sadden that he would not be able to glance at the older boy as freely as he did whenever he was bored during lessons last time but he also cannot fathom looking at the older boy every day while being reminded that they were not together anymore. This stroke of luck might be beneficial for him in the long run if he was adamant in breaking up with Mino.

 

Much to Taehyun's relief, he did not see Mino at all during the new term ceremony and morning class hours. The brunet did saw someone else, though, Song Danah who was now a first-year student at his school. At lunch hour, he found himself cornered by the determined younger girl as he explained fervently about his and Mino's current situation to her. They were conversing out of sight behind the gym hall when a familiar deep voice called out to the brunet unexpectedly. Taehyun whipped his head around with building apprehension as he watched Mino stalked forward angrily across the school field.

 

    "Nam fucking Taehyun, I swear to motherfucking god," Mino gritted his teeth tightly, glaring daggers at the younger boy. If Taehyun had thought he looked bad, Mino looked even worse. There were bags to his eyebags, his face looked livid and almost pale, his hair in disarray as if he had been running his hand through it for thousand of times. Mino did not even bother to put on his school jacket and tie, his shirt untucked and messy. "Do you have any fucking idea how frustrated I am with you right now?"

 

Taehyun stepped on his shaky nerves and forcefully squared his shoulders before turning around to face the older boy properly. There was no escaping the inevitable now. "Mino. What brings you here?" Taehyun asked easily, summoning as much false bravado as he can. Danah stood aside as she witnesses the growing tension that had suddenly risen between the two boys.

 

    "What the fuck, Taehyun? Did your phone break? Did your whole family move? Are you suddenly a hermit now? What the fuck, why didn't you pick up your phone? Why didn't you reply to my messages? What the actual fuck?" Mino ground out fiercely at the brunet as he grabbed Taehyun's shoulder and pushed him hard against the wall. Taehyun grimaced from the impact but kept silent.

 

Danah swiftly cuts in and placed her delicate hand on his brother's shaking arm, "Oppa, don't. I know you're angry but calm down," she pleaded hastily.

 

    "Stay out of this, Danah or I swear to god," Mino warned her little sister. Danah reluctantly pulled away with a heavy frown. Mino fisted the cotton of Taehyun's shirt in his hand, "Now fucking explain yourself. Why are you doing this?"

 

Taehyun was silent for a few tense seconds before he spoke lowly, "I told you. I'm letting you go."

 

    "What the hell do you even mean?"

 

    "We're not meant for each other. I don't deserve you, and you should not be with me," Taehyun said, eyes hard on the ground.

 

    "No. I've waited for you for one freaking week in front of your goddamn house, this is not what I wanted to hear. Do better, Nam Taehyun," Mino growled sharply, trying his hardest to not shout in anger.

 

Taehyun opened his mouth before closing it again, trying to find words that would help him in his case. "I... care about you, Mino. I realized that you deserve to have a better future with someone else at your side. I don't want to be the one who would end up ruining that if we stay together," Taehyun said clumsily.

 

Mino's face was painted in disbelief. "What? Are you listening to yourself?"

 

    "You're not gay," Taehyun continued mildly. Mino scoffed at the brunet's words, mouth twitching in disdain.

 

    "Oh, now you have a problem with bisexuals?" Mino questioned in pure bewilderment. His hand falling to his side. Taehyun shook his head furiously, frustrated that he cannot seem to explain himself clearly.

 

    "No, you're not that either. You're straight, Mino. And I'm just someone you experienced something different with. We weren't anything special. I'm not special," Taehyun said desperately as he remembered the times when Mino was so happy with the Song family, with little kids at the firework festival, how the older boy's face turned almost crestfallen at Taehyun's grandmother's words. "We were just having fun, Mino. We're nothing special. You could easily replace me with a cuter girl in a heartbeat."

 

    "Stop it! I don't like you saying all these mean stuff about us. Why are you doing this? Look at me when I'm talking to you," Mino said sternly while grabbing both of Taehyun's shoulders this time, shaking him in place.

 

    "No," the brunet looked away stubbornly.

 

    "Why? Do you hate me now?"

 

    "No! I care about you!"

 

    "Then fucking act like it! You're confusing me, Taehyun-ah," Mino almost shouted in frustration, fingers digging deeper into Taehyun's flesh. Danah made a worried noise from the back of her throat as she was unsure whether to step in or not. Taehyun bit his lip and looked down resolutely.

 

    "I'm sorry, Mino. Please don't hate me. I care about you," he whispered.

 

    "No! You wouldn't do this if you do," the older boy shook the brunet again.

 

    "Mino, please. You're hurting me," Taehyun said, trying to hold back his tears from listening to how heartbroken Mino's voice was.

 

    "Let Taehyun go, Song Mino," Seungyoon's voice came from behind them. Taehyun and Danah looked up in surprised as Mino glared at the prefect that had always seemed to pop up at places he had no business being at.

 

    "Fucking hell, you again?" Mino grew infuriated as Seungyoon stepped into the picture. The prefect was standing near them in his perfect little glasses, carrying his neat little notebook. The sight of how put-together the shaggy-haired boy irked Mino in every way possible. "Turn around and leave, this is none of your business," he gritted out testily. Seungyoon adjusted his glasses collectedly, studying the affair before him. He saw Taehyun's suspiciously impassive face and knew that his friend was on the verge of breaking down. Seungyoon decided to lend a hand.

 

    "I begged to differ. It very well is my business when you're hurting my best friend," Seungyoon's smooth voice replied back, staring straight into Mino's furious eyes.

 

    "Hurting him? I wasn't even doing anything!" The older boy shouted at the prefect.

 

    "Then let him go."

 

Mino took a few seconds to breathe in deeply before slowly letting his hands go, fingers lingering slightly on the back of Taehyun's hand when he graced the fair skin longingly before stepping away. "Fine," he gritted his teeth at Seungyoon before glaring at the brunet who was still avoiding his eyes. "Happy now that you're precious Kang fucking Seungyoon had come to save you?" Mino said bitterly to the younger boy.

 

    "Mino, please," Taehyun begged in a low voice.

 

    "We're not done yet," Mino replied before stalking away, striding angrily with hunched shoulders. Taehyun watched Mino go with a heavy frown and even heavier heart, unsure if his heart could handle another encounter with the older boy.

 

Seungyoon came up to him swiftly, laying a comforting hand on his shaking shoulder, worried if he had probably shown up too late to help his friend, "You okay, Taehyun-ah?"

 

Taehyun's wide eyes rested sadly on his best friend, nodding slowly in return, "Y-yeah. I'm fine," he replied with a small smile. Seungyoon's eyes narrowed at the forced act, he stared harder at his friend who was visibly bothered.

 

    "Did he hurt you?" He asked seriously. Seungyoon had never liked Song Mino very much. He was glad Taehyun wanted to end their relationship, the older boy seemed hard to control.

 

    "What? No," Taehyun replied quickly in surprise. "No, Mino would never hurt me. It's just, I didn't handle that well just now. I'm an idiot," he confessed emptily to his friend. Seungyoon sighed and was about to cheer the brunet up when another voice spoke up first before him.

 

    "Yes, you are, oppa," Danah said plainly from where she stood, her beautiful face frowning in disappointment. Seungyoon looked at the girl and Taehyun in question, he had never seen the girl before. "An idiot, that is."

 

    "May I know who you are?" Seungyoon asked while he stood properly. Danah's hard eyes softened a little at meeting the questioning gaze. She bowed politely before introducing herself.

 

    "Danah, Song Danah. Class 1A. Please take care of me, Kang Seungyoon-shi," Danah said in return, watching the older boy's studious eyes slowly morphed into recognition.

 

    "Ah, Song Danah-shi... Song Mino's sister?" Seungyoon asked in confirmation. The lunch bell rang and Seungyoon clicked his tongue as he glanced down at his watch.

 

    "Yeah, I'm Mino's sister. Pleasure to meet you," she replied readily.

 

    "Same here. Look, Danah-shi, I'm sorry I had to be firm with your brother just now. Taehyun is my best friend and I care about him a lot. I don't want any trouble from either one of them," Seungyoon said as he grabbed onto Taehyun's wrist, about to dragged the brunet away. They should not be late for class on their first day of school. Danah nodded slowly, eyes turning hard again but this time at both boys.

 

    "I get it. But Mino is still my brother and I think what Taehyun-oppa is trying to do is dumb," She said to them both, hands folded in front of her as she stood her ground, the hot sun and strong wind barely doing anything to her. Taehyun could never get how girls always seemed so strong physically when they were the softest people.

 

    "Danah-yah..." Taehyun called out to her exasperatedly, wanting to explain himself again. Danah shook her head stubbornly.

 

    "No, listen," she said as her delicate finger pointed to Taehyun reproachfully. "Taehyun-oppa, my brother had suffered a lot when it comes to relationships. He usually doesn't expect much from his partners but you're a completely different story. You changed him for the better, he was genuinely happy with you. I just think you're stupid for ruining something completely perfect for a future you're not even hundred percent sure of yourself," she said, almost vexed by the situation. "It's not just Mino-oppa, even I don't understand what is it you're trying to do. You are a disaster," the younger girl scolded the brunet and turned around to leave.

 

Taehyun watched her go too, overwrought in massive disappointment for himself. The brunet had never felt more pathetic at how the Song siblings were making him feel, both of them had never made such miserable faces at him regardless of what he did or said when they were together. He really was a failure.

 

He felt Seungyoon pulled lightly on his wrist, "Come on, don't think about it. Let's go," he urged the brunet gently as they walked back silently to class together.

 

* * *

 

 

It had been many days, Taehyun's phone still buzzed more times that it should and his messages from Mino were still piling up. Taehyun was certain that the older boy was not this persistent with his other exes. It made him feel both loved and wrought in misery for having to be cruel to the older boy. There were times when he would answer Mino's calls, getting into heated arguments with the older boy when one of them started to shout in disagreement. Replying to Mino's messages would only trigger the older boy to call him instead, inciting another fight between them.

 

Sometimes Mino would corner him at school, talking in harsh whispers while Taehyun kept quiet and stared at the ground resolutely. Mino was almost impossibly convincing when talking face to face than when on the phone. His bass voice was dangerous, his sharp eyes bewitching and his touches lingered hotly on Taehyun's skin. The brunet had always either managed to walked away coldly, or were rescued by Seungyoon who seemed to always keep Taehyun under his radar at all times. While Taehyun preferred the latter option, the older boy would instead seethe in quiet anger every time it happened.

 

Taehyun was on the school rooftop, sitting further away from the rest of the rowdy students who were also on their lunch break. The sky was a canvas of blue painting and the sun almost blinding. Taehyun took a deep breath and closed his eyes, sitting on the scorching floor and leaning his head back against the chain link fence. Taehyun had not seen the older boy for two days straight and it bugged him a little. He was glad for the quietness but cannot help but to be worried for Mino. He was not lying when he told the older boy that he still cares for him over and over. He took out his phone and scrolled through the messages listlessly, feeling lost.

 

In all honesty, he did not want for them to be over but at the same time, he knew that Mino deserves so much more than just an indecisive, moody, selfish Nam Taehyun. Mino had done so much for him, he changed so much just so he could make Taehyun happy and Taehyun did not even do anything significant for the older boy in return. Taehyun did not think that he had anything to offer the older boy anyway. It was better this way.

 

    "Are you going to run away this time too?" Mino's voice came from where he stood a few steps away from Taehyun. The brunet was so deep in his thoughts that he was startled to hear Mino's familiar baritone voice. He looked up and saw the older boy, standing casually in his school uniform under the bright sun, hands in his pants pockets and his amazing hair swaying gently in the afternoon breeze. Taehyun tore his eyes away as quickly as he could, refusing to memorize the comforting image in his mind.

 

    "Still won't look at me, huh?" Mino commented lowly. He stood there for awhile, Taehyun felt the older boy's eyes gazing intently at him under the clear sky. Mino sighed and lowered himself on the floor, copying Taehyun's pose, only a little further away from the brunet. "I'm tired, Taehyun-ah. I don't know how to get to you anymore."

 

The brunet kept silent, tilting his head away from Mino, eyes sweeping the other students' activities. Some were laughing together, other rough-housing like your typical high school kids, none were paying attention to them. "I really can't understand your reason for dumping me," Mino continued glumly, his low voice carried subtly to Taehyun. The older boy laughed pathetically, his tanned hand running through his bangs.

 

    "You're really hard to get, Taehyun-ah. I don't deny that. Maybe this is one of those times where whatever it is you're doing, people just tend to get you wrong. Like right now, this thing you're saying and doing, it's freaking frustrating," Mino said exasperatedly. Somewhere at the back of Taehyun's mind, he heard the sound of other students chatting and laughing but he was too distracted by the sound of his own loud, beating hard to noticed. He wrung his hands together, sadden by the fact that Mino still does not seem to get his reasoning for breaking up.

 

    "I'm so tired, Taehyun. This game you're playing, you're definitely succeeding in driving me away," Mino continued, his tone of voice showed just how exhausted he was. He sighed heavily and rubbed his face harshly. Mino turned his sharp gaze at the brunet again, trying to get any sort of response from him. "Taehyun, would you please look at me, at least this once?" He begged. The brunet stubbornly kept his eyes away, head tilted towards the other direction. Taehyun knew that he was letting Mino down but he had to be cruel in order for the older boy to finally give up on them. Mino's hands turned into fists as he looked away in quiet anger.

 

    "Fine then. All this chasing after you, this one-sided fights, this sleepless nights, I'm done," he finally said to the brunet.

 

Mino's words were frosty cold, so cold that it burned at Taehyun’s heart. The brunet had to close his eyes as he felt it burned to ashes.

 

The school bell rang, Mino looked up as he had just noticed Seungyoon standing still in front of the rooftop door, probably had been there for the past few minutes. The prefect was making sure every student was well on their way down the stairs and to their respective classes but his eyes had never strayed even once from the couple who was still sitting silently, further away from the rest of the milling students. Mino smirked disdainfully at the shaggy haired boy as he chuckled bitterly to himself.

 

    "I guess now that he knows, it's better to be with him than with me, right?" Mino said those words painfully to the brunet. Taehyun finally turned to look at the older boy, his delicate eyebrows raised in confusion.

 

    "Mino? What are you saying?" Taehyun asked in apprehension. Mino could not possibly be thinking that...

 

    "If you're honestly playing with me, Taehyun, then it's best that I don't know about it. I'll just take your excuse of wanting me to be happy, have kids and whatnot anytime over you and him dating," Mino said as he stood up, brushing his pants for any dust. Taehyun stood up hastily too, panicking at the older boy's train of thoughts.

 

    "Wait, Mino. You've got it wrong. There's nothing going on between me and Seungyoon! You've got to believe me," he pleaded to the older boy, grabbing his hand impulsively. Mino looked down between their hands and brushed Taehyun's off gently.

 

    "Did you kissed? Did it happen during school break? Behind my back?" Mino asked with a blank face.

 

    "No! Nothing happened! Please, don't do this to me, this is not what I want," Taehyun's pleas rising in volume as he grew more rushed, trying to cut Mino from his obviously wrong assumptions.

 

    "Look, Taehyun. I'm not trying to pressure you or anything. I just want you to know that I don't want to let you go but if you already have someone else, then I don't want to know about it either," the older boy said as he shoved both hands in his pockets, refraining himself from wanting to hug the brunet close and never giving him to anyone else.

 

    "No," Taehyun grabbed onto Mino's arm again, "No, no Mino. Look at me please, you've got it all wrong!" He tried again as he faintly heard Seungyoon calling out to him in worry.

 

Mino glanced over at Seungyoon and muttered to himself, "Fucking unbelievable." He walked away from the brunet, ignoring the younger boy's desperate calls. Mino walked swiftly passed the prefect, not even acknowledging the shaggy haired boy. He got down the staircase and out of sight, his name being called over and over by the brunet hopelessly.

 

Seungyoon immediately went to the distressed brunet, stopping him from sprinting down the stairs. "Taehyun, what's wrong?" He asked worriedly.

 

    "Mino! Fucking Song Mino, he thought I'm breaking up with him because of you. That freaking idiot!" Taehyun said out loud, lost and looking helpless on his own. Seungyoon blinked his eyes a few times, wondering if he had heard Taehyun correctly.

 

    "Because of me? What?" Seungyoon asked in shock. He knew that Song Mino was dumb, he just did not expect it to be to this extent. "But... You're my friend," he stated, only a little bit of his composure was rattled.

 

    "I know! But he thinks we're dating and that's the reason I'm breaking up with him! That big idiotic, motherfucking doofus, I swear to god there is nothing in his fucking brain!" Taehyun shouted in irritation and tried to stalk forward in search for the older boy but was held back by his friend.

 

    "Taehyun, wait. Calm down," Seungyoon said, his arm raised in front of the brunet to block him.

 

Taehyun groaned in frustration and pushed half of his body in the staircase hall, "I didn't cheat on you, you fucking idiot! Come back here, Song Mino!" He shouted in anger. Seungyoon immediately pulled the brunet back in panic.

 

    "Taehyun! Are you out of your mind? What if somebody heard that?" Seungyoon hissed urgently at his friend.

 

    "I don't care! He totally misunderstood me, Seungyoon-ah!" Taehyun replied just as fast.

 

    "Taehyun! Calm down! Listen to me, listen. So he got a few facts wrong, so be it. You wanted him to break up with you, right? That's what you wanted, right?" He said gravely at his friend, staring him straight in the eyes.

 

    "Yes!" Taehyun replied helplessly, "But I didn't freaking cheated on you!" Taehyun shouted down the staircase, listening to the echoes that came back up to him faintly. Seungyoon hastily pulled his friend further back outside, brows furrowing in distressed.

 

    "I know you didn't but does it really matter? You wanted him to leave you, he's doing it now, that's enough right? He's gone now, you're not together anymore. He's free to go," Seungyoon tried to reason with his friend, both hands on the brunet's arms. He pulled his friend nearer to him.

 

    "But not like this. Not like this Seungyoon-ah!" Taehyun struggled a little, trying to free himself from his friend to chase after Mino. Seungyoon's grip on him was relentless.

 

    "Look, you want to let him go. He's gone now. It doesn't matter how, you've been trying for weeks and he had been chasing you nonstop! It's frustrating and depressing as hell to watch and now it's over. It's done. It doesn't matter the circumstances, you guys are over now," Seungyoon tried to convinced the brunet desperately, eyes clear and his voice carrying so much weight.

 

    "But... Seungyoon... We were," Taehyun whined sadly to his friend. Seungyoon nodded in understanding, shushing his distraught friend.

 

    "It's done, Taehyun. He's finally moving on and so should you. Snap out of it, for god's sake," Seungyoon lightly scolded the brunet, shaking him a little. Taehyun stared at the rooftop floors between his legs, he felt so lost.

 

    "I... I don't want it to be like this," he said to himself mostly. Seungyoon took hold of Taehyun's hand fully, pulling at it in concern.

 

    "Come on. Let's go. We're late for class," he said as he slowly dragged the reluctant brunet along. Taehyun seemed lost in thought, not paying any attention to his friend. "Taehyunie," Seungyoon called out to him in worry, Taehyun raised only a fraction of his head up to glance at the shaggy haired boy. "Let's go," Seungyoon tried again, tugging at Taehyun's warm hand slightly.

 

    "Yeah. Yeah, okay," Taehyun knew that Seungyoon was right. He had always been saying all the right things at all the right times. "Okay,..." Taehyun nodded in defeat. The brunet was unsure of the reason why Seungyoon's logical and wiser voice had to always grate on his nerves.

 

* * *

 

 

    "Did you and Mino had a fight?" Taehyun's mom asked from his bedroom door, leaning her small body slightly against the wooden beam. The brunet looked up from his literature book on his lap. If he were to pay attention, he would notice that he was still on the same page he had started at an hour ago.

 

    "I- No.. It wasn't a fight," Taehyun said, avoiding his mother's sharp gaze. He had been doing that a lot lately, hiding hopelessly from people that care. He leaned back against the hard wall on his bed, "We broke up. A few weeks ago," he confessed, his whole being felt utterly downhearted.

 

Mrs. Nam stood properly then, gazing attentively at her oldest son, "May I ask why?" She inquired mildly. Taehyun knew that his mother cares a lot for them, but now her concerns were even more potent to the dejected boy, making his eyes blurry abruptly.

 

    "It's nothing," Taehyun tried casually, he did not want to worry his mother. They stayed there silently, waiting for the other to say something. After awhile, it was Taehyun who seemed to had reached out to his mother first. "It's everything, mom. I don't know if what I'm doing is right. I feel like I'm a mistake for him. Mino-hyung, he- he deserves much better. So I broke up with him. We're not the same. I don't want him to suffer because of me in the future," Taehyun said as he pushed his book aside, bringing his knees up to his chest and hugging them tightly in a small act of comfort.  


    "Taehyun,..." His mother called out to him sadly. Taehyun glanced at her as she took small steps towards his bed. His mother looked tired; her hair that was styled in a bun was a little loose, she was still in her work uniform, she had not even washed her makeup clean or removed her socks in their warm apartment. He felt bad for worrying her.

 

    "I'm sorry, mom. I'm sorry for being like this. I'm sorry for making you worry. I really think he's better off without me," Taehyun said as Mrs. Nam took a seat gingerly at the edge of his bed.

 

    "Did you both agreed on this?" She asked, her eyes punctuated just how serious she was currently taking the news. Taehyun lowered his gaze, feeling so much younger in front of her no matter how big he grew.

 

    "I asked him to break up with me. He wouldn't understand anyway if I talk to him about it," Taehyun said hastily.

 

    "What do you mean? Why wouldn't he?" She questioned back.

 

    "I saw him around kids, mom. He would want that in his life. I can't give him that. And his family is so nice to me, I feel like I'm doing something bad for taking their son away. I know it's for the best. He's going to make some other girl really happy in the future," the brunet said, hiding his face between his knees. "He deserves that kind of future."

 

    "Taehyun, look at me," his mother called out to the brunet. Taehyun reluctantly caught his mother's gaze with his own troubled eyes. "I know what you're thinking. I know what you're trying to do and it may seem like the right thing to do to you, but you need to let him decide on his own. It's not just you alone in this relationship, Taehyun," his mother said in advice, still respecting her son's decision.

 

    "I know, mom. But I don't think he would get it. He's too kind, he's too nice. I'm scared, I feel like I'm taking advantage of him all this time," Taehyun confessed his worry.

 

    "Don't you see that you're taking advantage of his kindness now too? You made your decision while expecting him to understand without hearing him out, on what he thinks of it. Taehyun, that's being cruel," she said plainly. Her words were clear and cut deep in the brunet's gut. Taehyun hid his face again, hiding away from his mother's perceptive gaze.

 

    "Someone had told me the same thing long ago," her voice tinted in light sorrow as she started to say. "They said that I deserved better, they told me it was the right thing to do. I didn't argue back, I wouldn't argue back even now because our decision had brought me to you and Donghyun. And I would never regret having you both as my sons no matter what," Mrs. Nam said with a heartwarming smile, her hands lifting her son's crestfallen face gently. She took one of his cold hands in hers and held it tightly.

 

    "Listen to me, Taehyun. I honestly think that Song Mino is good for you. I don't know about your future, I don't know about this girl you made up in your mind for his future, but right now he's the one for you. Right now, you are both together in this. Don't let him go, out of a false sense of good will. You'll only hurt yourselves more," she said kindly as silent tears began to drop from Taehyun's eyes. He bit his lip and stared unseeing at the bedroom walls further before him. He took a shuddering breath when his mother moved forward to hug him warmly.

 

    "Good night, Taehyun. I love you," she said as she stood up, walking away and closing the door lightly, leaving her son to ponder on her words. She prayed that both boys, her oldest son especially will gain his happiness back.

 

* * *

 

 

The more Taehyun thought about it, the more he grew steadily confused about himself. He knew that he was the one who ended their relationship, he was also the one who had started to give Mino the cold shoulder, he too was the one who refused to talk it out with the older boy about why they needed to break up. He knew he was the instigator and yet what was this pain in his chest when he saw Mino coldly looked away every time their eyes met, when he finally ignored the brunet entirely as if Taehyun was a total stranger in Mino's life.

 

It was an unpleasant feeling and Taehyun felt as if he had been slapped across the face. Every time he laid eyes on Mino, every time he catches those sharp gaze of his; Mino would not acknowledge him, barely even a hint of familiarity in those dark eyes. To be honest, Taehyun felt a little bit miffed by it, regardless of whether or not he had the right to feel that way because from where was Mino learning all these ways of being so cruel? Taehyun was his ex-boyfriend, god damn it, some acknowledgment would be appreciated. He had even readied a long speech to give the older boy a piece of his mind but something made his mouth sealed shut every time they stumbled upon each other. Maybe it was cowardice, maybe it was shame; he does not even know anymore.

 

Taehyun did not realize it at first but Mino had never looked at him with eyes so vacant before. Now that he recalled back their memories together, Mino had never _not_ looked at him after they had started dating. Mino was always around, gazing lovingly at the brunet, making sure he was okay, eyes turning adorably cresent when Taehyun laughed at his jokes. Mino's gaze was always there; warm, comfortable and satisfying but now, now there was nothing.

 

It was what Taehyun had wanted. It was what he had expected after breaking up. He just was not expecting the feeling to be as if he was slowly being choked off of his oxygen.

 

* * *

 

 

It had gradually become apparent that Mino had not been coming to school as often.

 

It was almost a month after Taehyun had called the older boy to break up, after _The Day_ ; as Taehyun had dubbed it and he barely saw the older boy anymore. Mino's calls had completely stopped coming, his messages too. Taehyun felt as his heart had turned into a void of nothingness for ultimately getting what he wanted. He felt empty, stupid and alone.

 

So he did not expect to round a secluded staircase at school one evening while he was on his way back home only to stumble upon a sight of some pretty little girl, tiptoeing on her feet to whisper into Mino's ears as the older boy listened attentively.

 

Taehyun was not prepared for his heart to ache so much from missing the older boy. Mino looked just as good as he did before, he smiled just as charmingly too. Taehyun had to hide hastily after seeing the pair for fear that he would do something stupid; like screaming at the girl to back off his man. That would have gone super well.

 

He peeked from over the wall at them and saw the exact moment when the girl lost her balance, letting out a cute cry that grated on Taehyun's nerves and Mino's arms shot out to steady her in a heartbeat. His hands were grabbing her by her delicate waist in a gesture that seemed way too accustomed as if he had done it a thousand times before.

 

Taehyun swallowed back a cry of dismay. Of course, it would look familiar, Mino had been handling girls long before Taehyun came into the picture. He was comfortable around them and they looked so natural together. The difference of their heights was a match, the difference between their physical bodies was a match, even the difference of their voices was a match. What struck Taehyun at that time was not jealousy. No, he had felt that too many times whenever he saw Seungyoon smiling kindly at any other girls instead of him from a long time ago. This was Taehyun's first experience with heartbreak.

 

It was an uncomfortable feeling, like his heart was actually made out of glass and it had just shattered into a million pieces inside of him with no way of picking them back up.

 

Taehyun dragged his feet to walked away from the couple who were oblivious to his pain. It became a habit now for Taehyun to hide away in Seungyoon's room whenever he felt as if he was too weak to handle his days alone. Seungyoon came back from school much later to an unlock front door and a dejected looking Taehyun, lying soullessly on his bed.

 

    "Taehyun? You okay?" Seungyoon asked as he tentatively took a sit at the edge of his bed, lowering his school bag on the floor.

 

    "I feel like crying," Taehyun replied without hesitation but his eyes stubbornly remained dry.

 

Seungyoon just patted the brunet's knee and told him to take a bath, change into something more comfortable. The boy then left the brunet to notify the Nam family next door that Taehyun would be sleeping over at his house. Mrs. Nam seemed to understand what was going on with her son and nodded her head in compliance. She handed over a tray of warm meals she had cooked for dinner for the boys to eat, mainly because Mrs.Kang was away on her business trip that day.

 

The boys ate their dinner in silence back in Kang's household, Taehyun barely touching his food. He told Seungyoon what had happened that day after some coaxing from the shaggy haired boy and the brunet ended up feeling more miserable for his moodiness. Seungyoon had run out of advice to give his best friend long ago when this started. He just nodded in understanding and told the brunet to have an early sleep. Shutting his brain off would be for the best to avoid any overthinking, for now.

 

Taehyun complied easily and laid himself down on Seungyoon's bed after washing up, images of Mino and that cute girl in his strong arms floating across the brunet's mind distressfully. Taehyun curled in on his side as he bit his lip from wanting to cry, he cannot help realizing how the older boy did not belong to him anymore. Mino can now freely ran his warm hands over the girl's petite body if he wished to, he could kiss her deeply and swallow her pretty moans, he could pepper her soft neck with kisses so hooking that she could do nothing but to ran her hands urgently in his hair, enjoying his attention on her willing body.

 

Taehyun hated how weak he had become. He missed Mino so bad, he wanted to be in the older boy's embrace so fiercely. He breathed in the scent of Seungyoon on the pillow and was devastated of how even that managed to remind him of how lonely he was. Taehyun's own bed had always had a hint of woody musk that belonged to Mino, but the scent was long gone now. The brunet felt a single tear escaped his eyes as his traitorous hand had stolen its way into his shorts, the one he was currently borrowing from his best friend.

 

Taehyun was weak and heart-crushingly lonely, he reluctantly wrapped his hand around his weeping shaft as he imagined it was Mino's instead. He pumped himself helplessly and started to cry silently into the empty room, calling out low to the only person he wanted. The brunet laid on his back as he stared up at the ceiling with misty eyes. He should not be doing this, he felt undeserving for finding release over someone whom he had rejected. But his body had a mind of its own as his hands pushed his shorts down half way thoughtlessly and took out his member, hips jerking upwards at his own growing ministrations. Taehyun shoved his shirt up high as his other hand busied itself in rubbing and pinching his nipples, crying and wanting for it to be Mino's fingers instead.

 

    "Mino, Mino, please, I'm sorry, Mino," Taehyun chanted over and over between his low sobs. His mind was filled with memories of the older boy kissing him tenderly, loving him in the ways that drove Taehyun absolutely crazy. The brunet was lost in the intense haze, he failed to notice a pair of inquisitive eyes watching him from the slightly ajar door.

 

Seungyoon stood still just outside of his room. He had wanted to take his school bag before he noticed what was happening on his bed, in his own room. Taehyun's body was on full display for him, the brunet's eager hand on his penis and soft cries that his friend was trying so hard to not let out had caught the shaggy-haired boy off guard, rooted him to the floor. Seungyoon's own member had started to risen from the scene he was currently witnessing. He knew he should walk away, he should not watch what was obviously a private moment for his best friend. But Seungyoon could not take his eyes off Taehyun; of his writhing body, his erect nipples and crying face. It puzzled Seungyoon really, of how Taehyun managed to get off thinking of someone from his own gender. What was so interesting about a person who had the same body as yours? Why was Taehyun so into Song Mino and vice versa?

 

As Taehyun finally reached his climax in a broken sob, Seungyoon's member twitched and drooled precum of his own involuntarily, much to the boy's bewilderment. At that moment, his brain had sort of came up with an answer to his own previous questions after seeing his body own responses. Maybe it was not so much of that person's male body but instead it was that person's being himself.

 

Seungyoon did not think that he would be even remotely interested if he happened to see the exact same scene but substituted by a complete stranger. But since it was Taehyun; since it was someone whom he was familiar with, someone whom he adored, he kind of understood how Taehyun and Mino were crazy over one another. They had the time to learned about each other, they had time to opened up their hearts to accept the other person fully so it made so much sense to Seungyoon now how Taehyun just does not seem to be able to forget the older boy. He was way in too deep with Song Mino.

 

The boy stepped back into the silent corridor and made his way towards the kitchen, trying to calm his raging hard-on down. He prepared a mug of hot chocolate for Taehyun, purely to keep his mind busy than anything else as he heard the sound of Taehyun going to the bathroom and back to Seungyoon's bedroom again, the click of the bedroom lights turning off loud within the still house.

 

Seungyoon took a couple more minutes alone in the kitchen before nervously walked down the corridor towards his room. He knocked gently on the door and called out to Taehyun. The boy pushed the wooden slab opened slowly and saw that Taehyun had already fallen asleep on his bed. Seungyoon sighed and walked calmly into his darkened room, his heart a lot less unruffled now after he had time to will his erection away. It felt wholesomely weird to have a hard-on for your own friend and he was not sure if he was comfortable with it.

 

He placed the steaming mug of hot chocolate down on his study table and removed his glasses as well. He did not like what was going on with Taehyun and Mino. He supported Taehyun's decision on breaking up with the troublesome student but it seemed as if his friend was suffering so much from it. It was as plain as day that their separation was not mutual but he thought the only protest was from Mino's side, not Taehyun's as well. It seemed like the brunet's brain understood the reasoning behind Taehyun's decision but his heart does not. He still very obviously has feelings for Mino.

 

Seungyoon sighed tiredly as he kneeled down beside the bed that was currently occupying the heartbroken brunet. He watched the slow rise and fall of Taehyun's chest, his wet cheeks, and his frowning eyebrows. Seungyoon gently smoothens the worried lines with his thumb. The boy had known for a long time that his friend held a captivating beauty of his own. It was not something bold or attention-grabbing, no. Taehyun's beauty was subtle, it was exotic, almost alluring when you suddenly noticed it. A beauty that was captivating and stuck to your mind unassumingly. It was not hard to believe that even a brute such as Song Mino could have fallen for the brunet because of it. Seungyoon could probably understand the feeling and attraction too if he tries to look at Taehyun in another way instead of someone who was his best friend.

 

The boy's quiet gaze trailed down to Taehyun's exposed neck, down to the dip of his waist and further to a pair of fair thighs in the dark. Song Mino had touched his friend, laid claims on him more times than Seungyoon could probably count. Seungyoon wondered how Mino does it, how he managed to love someone from his own gender when all he ever did was play around with girls. The shaggy-haired boy lightly laid his palm on the surface of Taehyun's smooth thigh, the feeling was similar to when he touches girls, there really was not much of a difference between them maybe. He brought his touch up slowly, sliding his warm hand until he reached the bottom of Taehyun's shorts.

 

Seungyoon thought that if Taehyun needed it, he would gladly learn how to fall in love with the brunet too. They were already close, they were familiar with each other's quirks and habits like the back of their own hands. Seungyoon can help Taehyun to forget about Mino, if he so much as ask.

 

Seungyoon slid his hand underneath Taehyun's shorts, dragging his palm higher. Taehyun's upper thigh was warmer, smoother even as he traced his fingers over the expanse of soft skin there. If someone as coarse as Song Mino can satisfy his unique little Taehyunie, then Seungyoon was absolutely positive that he could be even better. He knew the brunet longer, shares the same interest in many things; Seungyoon wondered why Taehyun did not come to him for a relationship. The boy leaned forward on the bed, brushing the brunet's bangs away from his sleeping face as his fingers traced patterns over Taehyun's skin, just shy of the brunet's bottom cheek.

 

    "Taehyun..." Seungyoon called out softly, unsure if he should wake the brunet up. If Taehyun was only going to be miserable loving Song Mino then he could step in and remedy that. He could do it, he could learn to love his best friend, it would be easier, maybe they would even end up happier. If Taehyun would not ask of it from him, then he would offer himself instead. It would not be hard, he was sure of it.

 

    "Taehyunie..." He whispered lowly as his lips connected gently with the brunet's. He kissed his best friend softly, rubbing soothing circles on Taehyun's thigh with his thumb. He pulled away and called out to the brunet again, "Taehyun-ah.."

 

Taehyun slowly opened his eyes after he felt a brush of lips on his own, "Mino?..." He asked into the dark.

 

Seungyoon shook his head once, "No, it's me, Taehyunie."

 

Seungyoon saw the sadness that painted over the brunet's face in a blink of an eye as Taehyun's lips quivered and he cried listlessly into the pillow. His crushed face hidden within the blue cotton.

 

    "Taehyun-ah, don't cry," he whispered his plea at the shaking brunet. Taehyun took hold of Seungyoon's hand on his thigh and removed it from himself, settling the hand down on the bed sheet without looking. "Taehyunie?" Seungyoon hesitantly called out again in question.

 

    "No... I- I want Mino," the brunet whispered harshly, sobbing voice muffled by the pillow. Seungyoon gripped the sheets between his hand tightly. His blank stare revealed nothing to the dark room, as it should be. He was not sad from the rejection, only a slight pinprick in his heart could be felt and it made him grimace.

 

    "I'm sorry, Taehyun-ah," Seungyoon hushed the crying brunet. "I'm sorry," he guessed he was too late. Taehyun's heart had already belonged to another person.

 

Seungyoon stood up from the cold floor as he watched his best friend wept silently on the bed. He took a step back and grabbed onto Taehyun's phone without the brunet noticing it. With a difficult mind, Seungyoon walked out of the room and gently closed the door behind his back, the painful sobs muffled by the wooden door. It was clear that Taehyun did not want any kind of comfort from him other than staying as his friend. Seungyoon could do that, he could be that too if Taehyun needed him in that sense. He scrolled through Taehyun's contact list for one particular Song, hesitating only a little before pushing the call button.

 

He could at least do this much for his precious friend.

 

* * *

 

 

Taehyun sat on his stool in the art classroom, twiddling with one of his paint brushes distractedly. He was alone, the class ended some time ago. The brunet traced the wooden bumps on his brush as he sat waiting for Seungyoon to fetch him once the boy had finished up his tasks at the student council room. Taehyun's frown deepened, Seungyoon had been keeping a hairsbreadth of distance with the brunet after the night Taehyun slept over.

 

That night, Taehyun vaguely remembered his best friend's hand rubbing soothing circles on his thigh almost intimately. He remembered the hesitant look in Seungyoon's eyes, coupled with a gaze so full of care that it made Taehyun's heart ached. It was a look he had missed, but it did not come from the person he truly desires. He was unsure of what it was that Seungyoon had wanted from him, but whatever that moment hold, Taehyun was still pining very strongly for Mino. Only Mino's eyes, his touches could fill up his heart with love.

 

Taehyun looked up at the clear sky outside the classroom window, a feeling of loneliness crept steadily within him as he was reminded of the older boy who had always stayed back with him no matter how late it would get. Mino had not been coming to the art class anymore, he was still barely even at school. Taehyun caught a glimpse of the older boy once or twice in the past few weeks and that was it.

 

The brunet was a bit worried about Mino's academic performance, the older boy did amazing last year when he actually put in effort in class. Taehyun did not want to see those good results go to waste just because the older boy decided to play truant again. Whatever the reason for him to skip school, be it that he was mending his broken heart or if he was sick of having to stumble upon Taehyun or Seungyoon at all corners; Mino should not throw all his hard work away just because of a breakup. Taehyun honestly wanted to give Mino a piece of his mind, again, on how stupid he was currently being but the brunet was positive that he would be that last person Mino would want to see. As if being dumped was not bad enough, being lectured for moping around after getting dumb by your ex was topping the cake.

 

Taehyun scratched his head with a loud groan. Who was he kidding really? He made Mino this way and now he expected for the older boy to behave according to his rules, to his expectations? He was by far the worst human being on earth. But Taehyun was genuinely worried for Mino, he broke up with the older boy in order for Mino to have better options. Find a nice girl, go out on nice dates, excel in his studies and get a great job, build a nice family. Taehyun did not know where he went wrong, every time he tried to do something nice it would always backfire on him. He was a big failure, in a relationship and in life.

 

Taehyun was startled when he heard the class door slid opened, he stood up in a flash and watched as a familiar boy entered the room. It was Pyo, the other boy was equally as surprised at seeing Taehyun there.

 

The brunet took a steadying breath, trying to calm his nerves. He did not know why he thought it would be someone else, someone who he actually really wanted to see, "What are you doing here?" Taehyun asked his ex-classmate. Pyo did not share the same class as Taehyun in their third years, much to the brunet's relief. It would be a bit awkward if they did, with the other boy being Mino's best friend, soulmates as the duos liked to call themselves.

 

Pyo's surprised face had turned neutral now, he walked in casually, heading for the storeroom where the club members would keep all their art supplies and massive canvases. "I'm on detention, was late every day since ever. Don't mind me, the teacher told me to clean up this room. As if I even know how," Pyo grumbled as he reached for the door handle.

 

    "Wait, Jihoon. Wait. I- how is," Taehyun stuttered on his words, he wanted to know about Mino but he was also ashamed to ask. He was not sure if he even had the rights to ask after what he had done but he bit his lip and bulldozed forward anyway, "How is Mino? Is he okay? How is he holding up?" Taehyun asked, eyes on the floor.

 

Pyo stared carefully at his best friend's ex. He had never involved himself in any of Mino's relationships to avoid unnecessary dramas but what was currently going on between the two boys was much more serious than Mino's past flings in Pyo's opinion. He had never seen his best friend this depressed after a breakup, then again he had never seen Mino cared for someone so wholeheartedly like he had with Taehyun. The older boy showered Taehyun with so much love. It made sense for Mino to be in his worst mood ever after their separation.

 

Mino's days for the past year had always been about Taehyun and nothing else. The older boy woke up while looking forward to seeing Taehyun, he learned how to cook for Taehyun, he talked about Taehyun all the time, he daydreamed about doing special dates for Taehyun, it was always Taehyun, Taehyun, Taehyun. Pyo admits that he had ditched the grossly in love Mino a handful of times when they were hanging out because he would not stop gushing over the brunet but Pyo was also happy to see how cheerful his best friend had become every single day. He was really rooting for them. It kind of sucked that they ended up being this way instead.

 

    "Why do you wanna know about him?" Pyo asked curiously. "You guys broke up, remember?" He said only with a hint of a small anger laced in his voice for his best friend's sake. Taehyun caught Pyo's gaze and quickly looked away again, the guilt slowly creeping up inside of him.

 

    "I know, I just- I haven't seen him in a while and I'm kind of worried. I don't want him to- I'm just worried, that's all," Taehyun confessed lowly, brushing the end of his jacket for any invisible dust.

 

    "He's not doing fine. You can continue your worrying," Pyo replied and slid the storeroom door open.

 

    "Jihoon wait, what do you mean-"

 

    "I told you, he's not alright. I don't know what's going on between you guys but if you are not serious about him then you don't have the obligation to fix him. Just leave him alone, you've done enough," Pyo replied callously and slammed the storeroom door close, leaving the brunet alone in the classroom.

 

Taehyun had flinched violently at both the loud slam and at Pyo's words. The other boy was right, Taehyun was the cause of this. What more was he trying to gain by meddling in Mino's business when he was clearly unwanted. But he cannot cope with his feelings anymore, he too was depressed. He was lonely and he was worried out of his mind for the older boy. He cannot stop thinking about Mino, cannot stop wanting to know what Mino was doing, who he was with, where he was, how his days and nights had been. He missed Mino's voice, his laughter, his touch and his kisses. Taehyun wanted Mino, he missed the older boy so much he does not know how to escape from the overwhelming feeling.

 

Taehyun sat down on his stool listlessly, trying to hold back his tears. He hated the fact that he now understands the saying 'you don't know what you've got until it’s gone.' It was cliché, it was annoying and Taehyun was regretting everything. He ended their relationship because he had thought both of them can do better but now Taehyun realized that he had something amazing and had foolishly let it go. He was sure that he was being so selfish right now but he wanted nothing more than to have Mino back even if he knew the older boy should not waste his relationship with Taehyun. Sometimes it was too little too late and people must learn from their unfortunate decision. He was hoping he would not be one of those people. He was hoping that if he had another chance then he want them to be together again, fuck the future or whatever delusional good deed he himself was trying to pull.

 

Taehyun looked up again when he heard voices coming down the hall, all of them sounded familiar, one, in particular, made his heart clenched tightly.

 

    "What do you mean she's in trouble. My sister is a good student," Mino's muffled voice said in disbelief.

 

    "She was caught trying to sneak out during class," Seungyoon's voice replied plainly. "Said she needed to go back and fetch her assignment that she had left behind."

 

    "It's true, I left it at home. It was due that day so I had no choice," Danah's voice filtered in. Taehyun saw their silhouettes hovering outside the classroom and his heartbeat grew louder.

 

    "She said she asked you to get it for her. Is it true, Song Mino?" Seungyoon asked further in his authoritative tone.

 

    "What? No, she didn't-" "Yes, I asked oppa to-"

 

A heavy silence fell upon the three of them, only the sound of impatiently tapping foot was heard on the tiled floor, probably Seungyoon's.

 

    "Look. I have to report either Danah-shi or you, Song Mino; for skipping school. If you're not involved then Danah-shi will have to open her first ever demerit book in her student records. It's unfortunate because it would look really bad in her so far excellent curricular marks," Seungyoon stated, his voice brooked no room for argument.

 

    "Fine. Okay. She asked me to get it for her. I skipped school that day anyway. I skipped school every day so just write whatever it is you need to in my book. She's a good student so leave her alone," Mino said with a loud, defeated voice. It was not just Taehyun, everyone could tell Mino was lying just so he could cover for her sister. The older boy was simply hopeless.

 

    "Very well, come this way. I need the exact date and time for this report," Seungyoon said and slid the door open, signaling for Mino to go in first.

 

    "Why are we here? This is not the student council room-" Mino's words died in his throat when he saw Taehyun in the room. He stood still and stare at the brunet before turning around to look at both Seungyoon and Danah who was standing outside the classroom door, both trying to act as innocent as they could. "What's this?" Mino asked in a low voice to them.

 

The ever brave and fearless Danah stepped in and looked up seriously at his older brother, "You both need to talk," she said.

 

    "Talk," Mino said in a deadpanned. "About what?"

 

    "About your relationship," Danah replied.

 

    "What relationship?" Mino countered curtly, hands slowly fisting on his sides.

 

    "Oppa, please don't do this. You're not doing okay. We're worried about you," Danah said with a heavy frown on her beautiful face.

 

    "If you hadn't noticed, I tried to talk about this with him. He didn't let me. We're through now," Mino gritted his teeth, eyes turning hard but refused to let Danah be the target of his anger.

 

    "He's here now, oppa. Talk to him, try your best to fix this. You had been strong all this while, you can be strong still right now. If it's not you, then who else can fix this?" Danah pleaded while holding onto Mino's hand, trying to calm the older boy's anger.

 

Taehyun shuffled forward nervously, lost at what was currently going on in front of him. "Seungyoon? What's going on?" He asked his friend who was still standing at the edge of the classroom door.

 

    "Taehyun, I know that you regretted your decision," Seungyoon said to him sadly. "I know that you're hurting and feeling guilty all by yourself and yet still refuse to take anything back because you're thinking what you did was right. But I can't let you be miserable like this," He said while smiling wistfully at the brunet, nodding his head towards Mino. "Here's your second chance, Taehyun-ah. Don't fuck it up."

 

Taehyun's eyes grew wide at Seungyoon's cursing and also at his best friend's stunt. Taehyun thought he had covered his feelings well but there was no way Seungyoon who had been with him for years would not notice his depression.

 

Mino then turned his head back to look at Taehyun, his eyes narrowed in subtle irritation. "So all that fiasco just now about you ditching class wasn't true, Danah? You teamed up with this uptight bastard and his new boyfriend there to bring me here?" He asked bitterly towards his sister.

 

    "Stop it, oppa. You know they're just friends and Seungyoon-shi was just doing what he can to protect Taehyun-oppa. Like your close friends did too. Taehyun-oppa was someone who you had loved a lot. Give him a chance for goodness sake," Danah pouted in annoyance.

 

    "I did. That's why we dated in the first place," Mino countered.

 

    "Give him a second one then! You always did towards everyone else, so why not him? Do you hate him that much?" Danah replied stubbornly.

 

    "She's right, Mino."

 

All sets of eyes turned towards Taehyun, startled at how strong his voice had carried out through the classroom. Taehyun stood at his spot and looked Mino straight in his eyes. He was done being depressed, he was done trying to sacrifice his feelings for something he thought was good for them both. He wanted Song Mino back.

 

    "Danah's right. Why not me? I know I've been a total ass to you and I understand if you don't want to see my face ever again but please, just, hear me out," Taehyun asked the older boy. He looked at the girl and his best friend and saw the support in their eyes. It was about time he grew his own backbone. He took a calming breath to slow down his loud, anxious heart. "I want to apologize," Taehyun said from across the art room.

 

Mino glared at Taehyun for a few tense seconds. Taehyun's heart was beating crazily from the obvious tension, he cannot screw this one up. Mino's face was a mixed of subtle pain and apparent anger, his voice was tight when he spoke. "That's it? Just a sorry?"

 

Taehyun's eyes turned unsure from Mino's question but he noticed the dampening storm in Mino's hard gaze when Taehyun seemed so small in front of him. The older boy looked away deliberately, "Sure, if that's all you wanted to say then I'll forgive you," the older boy replied in a quiet voice. "We done? I'm leaving," he stated and turned around but was bodily blocked by Danah.

 

    "No, you're not," his younger sister said sternly."Fucking man up, oppa. You're going to stay here, you're going to listen to what Taehyun-oppa has to say, until the end. I'm tired of seeing you partying until you're dead drunk during the day and coming back home at godforsaken hours only to mope noisily in your room."

 

    "I wasn't moping," Mino said with a small, angry pout of his own. His ego was slightly bruised.

 

    "Shut up, you totally were. Before that, you and Taehyun-oppa were doing so good together. You were really, genuinely happy. Don't you want that again?" Danah said while gently taking back Mino's hand into hers. "If things can go back to how it used to be then please try, oppa. Fix it. You can't let one bump down the road ruined your entire journey together," Danah said in finality and manhandled Mino towards the middle of the room. She dragged him with her and sat Mino down on one of the many empty stools.

 

Song Danah crossed her arms in front of her chest. "I've brought him here because I love him. I want him to be happy," she said to the brunet standing across from them. "I'm trusting you, Nam Taehyun. This is my precious brother. You'd better stop hurting him, or else," she raised a pretty manicured finger threateningly at Taehyun. The brunet nodded his head once. Satisfied, Danah gave a sour looking Mino one last look and a light, soft peck on the older boy's forehead. "Please try, oppa."

 

Danah walked passed the shaggy-haired boy standing at the entrance and out of the room. Seungyoon fixed his eyes at Taehyun, his face was closed off and unreadable. He looked as if he wanted to say something but swallowed the words down in the end. The boy nodded his head too at the brunet before slowly sliding the classroom door shut.

 

It was quiet in the room when it was just the two of them, the evening sun bathed the classroom in golden colors. Taehyun gingerly took a sit on a stool in front of the older boy. The sounds of students playing football on their school field could be heard outside, the opened windows let in a small breeze that gently blew lazily on Mino's already long and properly styled bangs.

 

Taehyun remembered the time when Mino confessed his reason for growing out his hair. It was adorable of him for wanting to change himself to be somebody who was similar to Taehyun's taste. It was a sweet and a purely selfless act the older boy had pulled, Taehyun did not deserve such an indulgence. But now Taehyun realized that Mino and all his endearing quirks were the best thing that could ever happened to him. If he let Mino go again this time, he could not imagine living his life normally, knowing that someone else had taken his place beside this wonderful person.

 

Taehyun braced himself and cleared his throat a little to expelled some of his nervousness. He looked up at the other boy briefly and said, "Mino. I- I'm sorry for all the times I've avoided you, and for not answering your calls, and saying all those things to you when I'm trying to broke us up."

 

Mino did not react, he kept his eyes glued to the windows, staring outside. Taehyun frowned sadly and tried again, "Mino, I'm sorry for being a jerk. Will you forgive me? Really forgive me? I messed up and, and I missed you, so much."

 

The older boy did not answer. He did not even budged an inch and continued to ignore the brunet. Taehyun was feeling all kinds of pain and remorse, he guessed he deserved it though. He had been giving Mino the cold shoulder treatment for god knows how long, maybe Mino had been learning well from him. He did not think it would hurt this much, having the person you love not giving you their attention. And he did the exact cruel thing to the most kindhearted person he has ever known. His regret was spiking up high.

 

Taehyun worried his lip. "Mino, please. Would you look at me? I really need to talk this out with you. Please, Mino, just look at me please?" He begged and grabbed the older boy's hand.

 

Mino glanced down at their hands and slowly took his hand away from Taehyun's hold. The brunet felt as of his face had been splashed by boiling water from it, "You didn't look at me when I was chasing after your tail like a fool," Mino said quietly. Taehyun could hear the sound of his heart shattered into a million pieces.

 

The brunet swallowed a few times, his throat was dry, his heart was aching too much, "I know, I know I did and I'm so, so sorry you had to go through that. I really am."

 

    "Well, I guess we're even now."

 

    "What do you mean?"

 

    "Remember that rainy day behind school? I hurt you with my words when I learned that you were gay, you hurt me too when we broke up."

 

    "Mino, that was different."

 

    "You didn't acknowledge my existence for a month, left me hanging like a fool and I didn't even know why. I'm doing that too, to you. Even if it was only a week instead of a month. A heartless one fucki-" Mino caught himself from shouting in anger and closed his eyes tightly. He took a deep breath and exhaled loudly before continuing on, "One month, Taehyun. One month of not knowing, of me feeling clueless and lost. It was a horrible feeling and I don't want to go through that again."

 

    "Mino, I-"

 

    "We're even now. Case closed, the end. Let's move on, Taehyun-ah."

 

    "No! Please don't this, Mino. Don't talk like that. I want to right things again. Please listen to me, just this once," Taehyun begged and tried to reach out for the older boy's hand again but stopped himself. Mino stared at Taehyun heartbrokenly, he did not say anything but nodded slowly when he caught Taehyun's hesitant gaze.

 

    "I know you're hurting, and I know it's because of me. I was stupid, I let my fear win over me and pushed you away," Taehyun said sadly, looking down at his empty hands. "Let us start over, properly. I want to date you, I want to be your lover, for real this time."

 

Mino scoffed, unamused at Taehyun's request, "You're unbelievable. I was dating you, Taehyun. Properly, as you're putting it. You were my boyfriend once."

 

    "But that was wrong. We started out wrong. You're not even into boys. My request was just a joke, a revenge, something spontaneous I asked from you out of anger," Taehyun replied with a frown.

 

    "It might have been a joke to you, but it was real to me," Mino said. "You don't seem to get it. I'm not gay, yeah, unlike you. And because of that, what we had was also very hard for me to accept, but you gave me a new experience that was amazing and I didn't even try to look back. I dated you because to me, everyone is worthy of a chance to be loved. I gave you that chance. I don't play around when it comes to feelings, not anymore. I don't want to be cruel," Mino explained patiently.

 

    "You're not. I know your feelings were strong. It was real and I was scared. Someone like you, Mino,.. you were not meant to be for someone like me," Taehyun said dejectedly.

 

    "I really don't understand your reasons for breaking up with me, Taehyun-ah. Did I ever gave you any reason to doubt me?" Mino asked seriously.

 

    "No... But you had girlfriends. You're straight. You love kids and you're just, you're perfect for all that," Taehyun replied sadly.

 

    "Yes, I adore kids. Yes, I dated girls before but did I cheat on you when we were together? Didn't I say, I love you, to you? Did you not remember me confessing to you when we went to see the fireworks together?" Mino asked, staring at the brunet hard.

 

Taehyun nodded slowly, "You did. You, you were so good to me. I got scared. I couldn't believe it. It was too much. It was too much and it was puzzling that you would even want to be with me."

 

Mino sighed softly and gazed out the window. Taehyun was trying hard to organize his scattered thoughts. The conversation was not going as well as he had hoped. He was starting to sound more pathetic by the minute and he felt like crying for being so stupid when it came to his feelings.

 

The older boy tilted his head and stared at Taehyun carefully. He said, "Taehyun, I don't know how other people define it but for me, falling in love only means for you to push your ego aside and accept your partner for who they are. Maybe you define it some other way, maybe you feel you need to sacrifice yourself for other people's happiness and maybe that's the way you love. You were wonderful, Taehyun. There is nothing not to love about you. And yes, I did loved you, a lot."

 

    "You don't love me anymore?" Taehyun smiled dejectedly at the floor, voice timid and soft.

 

    "I don't know," Mino replied with a sigh. "You broke my heart, Taehyun. I thought I would be used to it by now," Mino said with a rueful laugh. Taehyun frowned at the older boy's sorrowful face. He does not like the idea of Mino being too casual about his heartache.

 

    "Mino, I'm sorry," Taehyun said again. He was lost, he did not know how else he was going to fix this. Mino nodded distractedly at Taehyun's word, half listening and half thinking.

 

    "You've never asked me about my past relationships," Mino said out of the blue, Taehyun looked up with a questioning frown. "Do you want to know why we always broke up in the end? Me and those girls?" Mino asked the brunet. Taehyun sat still in his chair, unsure if he really wanted to know, if he somehow had managed to be a part of that cruel group of people.

 

    "I... don't know."

 

    "I'll tell you. It was because I had sex with all of them without any love. I guess it was a fitting punishment for me," Mino said emptily. "I liked this girl once, a long time ago. She was really into me, loved me even. She was only two years older but we lost our virginity together. She was cute and I liked her a lot. But I was young and stupid. Her other friends were cuter, hotter even than her, so I played around when they started to take interest in me. She found out and we had a big fight and I yelled at her, said that we were too young for things like love. Said that she would cheat on me once she grew older, meet better boys. I shouldn't have said that, I shouldn't have assumed people's feelings just to fit my own favor. So we broke up." Mino said, looking at Taehyun with so much pain in his eyes.

 

    "But like I said, I was young. So I continued fooling around freely. When a girl offers herself I took it, no strings attached. I admit I'm way too horny sometimes. I chased after girls until I soon realize they were doing the same to me. At that time, I slowly wanted to be loved instead of fooling around but it didn't go well. It was kind of a pack thing for them, those girls, passing me around. They asked me out on a date, we had sex a few days later, we broke up, the cycle repeats. I'm sure you've heard them gossiping about how great sex with Mino is. And I became the girls' target," Mino stated calmly, staring down at his hands.

 

    "Mino, I don't know what to say," Taehyun confessed slowly. Yes, he heard of those gossips, of how you need to have sex with Mino or you would be missing out big time. And the older boy being so cheap of himself did not help much in showing a good impression to others.

 

    "I know. It was my fault anyway. I didn't mind it at first but slowly I felt used. Unloved. Breakups after every breakups, I tried to hold back my tears. Really, I'm just a big stupid softie after all. I really wished for one of them to get serious with me. For once all I wanted was for a stable relationship. It made me missed that girl from a long time ago. I saw her once, at a cafe. She was with another man, she looked so happy, it made me feel even worse for myself," he muttered dejectedly. He looked up at the brunet and smiled wearily at him. Taehyun's frown deepened as his heart shattered even more. He really did had become one of those girls, breaking the older boy's heart carelessly.

 

Mino swallowed before sighing, he said, "That day when you found me behind school, I had had enough. I swore I wouldn't date anyone anymore. Not until I'm an adult, when I think I would be mature enough, when people would be more serious. Older women would understand what love is. I admit I was no saint but those girls were unbelievable, I always fall for their angelic smiles. They looked so harmless, so innocent. You wouldn't think that they could do what they've been doing to me."

 

Taehyun did know. He knew just how heartless girls could be. He had grown up falling in love with boys and learning how scary girls are when they really want something. He did not think he could win any tug-of-war with girls if he ever needed to win over Mino.

 

    "Mino, you don't need to tell me all this. I care about you, I really do," Taehyun begged the older boy. Mino shook his head slowly at Taehyun's words.

 

    "No, I want you to know. I want you to know how much I appreciate you when you came into the picture," Mino said to brunet. "The thought of dating a boy had never crossed my mind. I agreed to it willingly because honestly, I was weak. I really want to love someone. And if loving girls are hard, maybe boys would be different. You're the same gender as me, I thought that maybe you would understand my feelings better. It was a first time for me to not rush a relationship. It felt good, it felt real. I did what I think you would like, I did what I felt comfortable for myself too, it was a really nice feeling. I gave my all in trying to learn to love you. You slowly accepted me too even when you were afraid of it, of us, and I really treasured you for that."

 

Taehyun understood what Mino was saying. Loving someone new, a stranger was terrifying. But he saw how Mino had given his all in learning about Taehyun, the brunet thought he needed to put in his efforts too. Mino was not Seungyoon but that does not mean he could not get to know the older boy. To slowly learn to like him.

 

Mino cracked his knuckles from being restless. He said, "I thought it would be different with you since you were obviously different from those girls, our relationship was different, but I was wrong. Did you know, Taehyun-ah, that when it comes to you, it had only been more painful? Funny, isn't it? I'm not even batting for your team in the first place and yet I'm suffering like this. I learned that loving boys was nothing to be afraid of but then the rejection seemed twice as scarier. It's weird. I just, really don't know anymore," the other boy said thickly, both hands covering his face as he groaned in despair.

 

Taehyun heard a little sniffled coming from the older boy in front of him and he reacted without thinking. He grabbed onto both of Mino's hand and squeezed them tightly, completely ignoring how Mino was reluctant to hold his hand a while ago. Flashbacks of how Mino was crying hard in the rain for being dumped came to his mind and he could not imagine the thought of he himself being the one who was going to make Mino felt that horrible way again.

 

    "Mino, please. I'm sorry. I was stupid. I'm still stupid when it comes to my feelings. This is the first time I felt so strongly about someone and I'm scared shitless by it. Even Seungyoon doesn't make me feel this way. I know now, I know that it has to be you. You treat me so well, you understand me so much and I really do love you," Taehyun said with as much sincerity as he could.

 

Mino's eyes were watery, he sniffled a bit but he did not take his hands away from Taehyun. The brunet scooted closer and brought a hand up to cupped the other's face.

 

    "Please, can we start again? Am I asking for too much?" Taehyun whispered pleadingly.

 

    "I- I really don't know, Taehyun-ah. I was really hurt and I really can't,... I really don't know," Mino said, he held Taehyun's hand that was on his face and brought it down to his knee. Taehyun wanted to believe that this was a good sign because, at the very least, Mino was not avoiding his touch anymore.

 

Taehyun took a deep breath and swallowed once. He kept telling himself to not screw this up, he must mend Mino's heart back, "Okay. Okay, it's okay to not know. I understand but, can I tell you what I do know? What I do feel, about this right now? About you? And us?" Taehyun asked. Mino looked up to the brunet with heavy confusion written all over his face but he nodded anyway, albeit hesitantly.

 

    "Thank you. I just- I know, I know that you are the most kindhearted person, Mino. It made sense that you would feel as if what is happening to you is a punishment for what you did to the girl but it's not. People make mistakes, you made yours. But it doesn't mean you need to suffer so much for it. You're just having a series of bad lucks in relationships, that's it. You deserve love, Mino. Someone as kind as you, you deserve it. You treat your family, your friends, even the people who you had only met, with so much respect. You care and you always give your love freely," Taehyun started to say in an unstoppable word vomit, surprising both of them.

 

Mino made a little noise, confused and lost, "Thank you, I guess?" He replied back a little unsure.

 

    "Wait, wait, I'm not done yet. What I want to tell you is that, I love you for who you are. Mino, you had learned to respect other because you were raised by your father, whose job is a social worker and showed you how everyone is an equal, no matter what backgrounds they came from," Taehyun explained, hoping for Mino to understand where he is going with this. Mino nodded his head slowly, face still a little unsure at Taehyun's desperate outburst.

 

    "That's true, I guess," Mino replied with a raised eyebrow. Taehyun swallowed once, thinking of the things that made him fall in love with the older boy, wanting Mino to understand just how precious he is in the brunet's eyes.

 

    "You were hurt a lot of times by the girls you dated but you had never treated them badly. You were taught to treat girls kindly, to never harm them and always shower them with love. It's because your aunt, who lived next door to you was once a victim of spousal abuse and you learned to be gentle with them, not wanting to be like your uncle," Taehyun said to the older boy. Mino's eyes widen at those words.

 

    "How? How did you know that-"

 

    "You had also never took shit from anyone and you're always ready to defend your loved ones. That's because you were raised by your mom who kept telling you to be proud of yourself, and your mom would stand up for you when you are in trouble," Taehyun said at length.

 

    "I.. I don't know where this is going but, I learned to be strong from famous rap songs," Mino said with a hint of tiny humor in his voice.

 

    "Mino, I saw your old pictures. Your mom showed them to me once. You were a fat kid and she said you were a little bit dumb and was always bullied at kindergarten," Taehyun replied with a smirk.

 

    "She did what?! When? Oh my god, I'm so embarrassed right now," the older boy said, hiding his reddened face in between his palms.

 

Taehyun chuckled and took Mino's hands in his, "You were really cute. And I know the story of how your mom threw a punch at one of the kids who bullied you. She said those kids totally stayed away after that," he said.

 

Mino laughed a little at that, he nodded shyly and said, "Yeah, my mom was awesome. That kid was bigger than me but he fell on his butt when mom punched his stomach. It was hilarious."

 

Taehyun unconsciously smiled a little at Mino's amused face, "I know that you are actually strong, but you would hide it because people are already afraid of you just from your naturally scary face. You smile a lot when you're outside but when you're alone, you would frown and massage your forehead and jaw unconsciously. I guess your happy facial expressions are just too much for you sometimes. I'm actually the happiest when we're together and you didn't try to keep yourself in check. You made me happy with your jokes and stories, and it wasn't forced. You would show me your manly side too, the beastly, possessive one and I fell head over heels for you for it. Even when you were angry, or confused, or horny, or sleepy, or tired; all your expressions are so damn attractive to me," Taehyun confessed.

 

    "Ah... I don't like my face that much. People often commented on my eyes, like how they are too strong. It's my complex," Mino said while blushing as he looked down on the floor to hide his face.

 

    "Your eyes are beautiful, Mino-hyung. Your gaze is electrifying. My eyebrows are my complex too but you kept saying that they're cute, so I had learned to love it," Taehyun replied with a small smile.

 

    "Well, they are. And you're good looking so you shouldn't be worried about your face at all," Mino mumbled back a reply.

 

    "Thank you. You're not bad yourself," Taehyun replied while smiling widely. Mino looked up at the younger boy with a warm smile of his own.

 

    "So, any more singing praises?" Mino asked cheekily. Taehyun chuckled a little and nodded his head.

 

    "There are a lot more, but to name a few of my favorites," the brunet trailed his words and rested his chin on his fair hand.

 

    "I know that you love you sister dearly. You could have easily left this room when you knew you were being set up, even I can't stop you from leaving. But you let Danah who was much smaller than you, manhandled you into sitting on that stool right there because you didn't want her to be sad on your behalf. You're always level headed and wouldn't get angry at anyone even when they warranted it. But for Danah, you actually got into a huge fistfight with her ex-boyfriend. You got held back a year because of that bastard who didn't respect her, who didn't treat her right. Danah told me herself. And you're all about treating the people around you right, aren't you?" Taehyun said.

 

Mino stared at him, his eyes were clear and captivating, "You got one thing wrong, it's not just Danah who could have stopped me from leaving this room. You could too Taehyun, you're much more important than you think you are to me," Mino said.

 

Taehyun caught Mino's gaze hesitantly. He was not sure if Mino still had feelings for him, but the older boy's admission just now drove his courage up to confessed all that he was feeling to the wonderful person in front of him.

 

    "Mino, I know that you cared about me. A lot. You treated me with respect, you didn't make fun of my sexual preferences. I still can't believe how you've managed to be the best boyfriend ever but also a casual friend when I need it. You took your time to learn about being different, you had actually opened up to me and even gave me an amazing experience together. And you're super great with my family. You took care of Donghyun as if he was your own brother. You were always polite and sincere towards my mom and grandma. You would tolerate Seungyoon for me sometimes even though you hated his guts the most, your words, not mine," Taehyun said.

 

    "Well, he's still annoying and a stuck up goody two shoes. But he's your friend so..." Mino shrugged.

 

    "You really did a lot for me. And you're slowly changing me to be a better person," the brunet said.

 

Mino chuckled, "No, you were the one who helped me with my grades and attendance. And kept my troublesome antics in check," he praised the brunet kindly.

 

    "Maybe. But those are nothing compared to what you did for me. Did you think I didn't notice the small things you do? You're actually fast at drawing in our art club but you started to take your time so you could stay back and wait for me to finish after we started dating. You didn't like how I was always swearing so much, you wanted me to stop but you do it often too. So you gradually stopped swearing and hope I'll learn from example, except when you're really frustrated. You know I don't have many friends so we would go out and have fun with your friends instead, even if it was kind of awkward most of the time but you had always stayed beside me. I'm not an outgoing person, or the sporty kind so you would take my place instead to help my brother practice soccer," Taehyun said, his voice started to wobbled a bit.

 

    "Taehyun-ah..." Mino called out gently to him.

 

    "M-my family is not that well off, we'd usually just eat anything cheap. But you would come over once a week with your own cooking, saying that they're leftovers when you had actually asked your mom to teach you how to cook, just for us, for me," Taehyun said, a single tear fell from his eye.

 

Mino made a hushing noise and wiped the tear away from Taehyun's face. The older boy's frown deepened and he looked as if he was about to cry himself.

 

    "You're scared of a lot of things but you know I'm a bigger coward so you would always hold on tight to my hands and would always try to reassure me that everything would be fine. You did that at the haunted house during our many dates, and you did that too when my mom confronted you about us. You were really learning hard to love me. I know you adore kids, you go crazy over babies and little squeaky shoes. I would never be able to give those to you. I'm selfish but I still want you so much. So I'm asking you, Song Mino," Taehyun said in broken voice, "Would you let me learn to love you? I have nothing else to offer but please, can I have you back? Please?" He asked in a loud sob and cried into his hands.

 

Taehyun could not hold it in any longer. His heart was in so much pain, he was so scared that Mino will reject him, be done with him. He does not know what to say any more to the older boy and he felt like he had said everything and nothing all at once. His mind was a jumbled mess of hurt and worry but his heart was full of heavy longing. He wished to be with Mino again and forever.

 

Mino had suddenly pulled Taehyun into a tight embraced, "Okay Taehyun. Okay," he whispered against the boy's hair. "Let us start over. I'll be your boyfriend again. Let us learn to love each other, Taehyun-ah," he said comfortingly to the sobbing brunet.

 

    "Oh my god," Taehyun gasped harshly against the boy's chest. "Thank you, Mino. I was so stupid. Please, I'm sorry, Mino. I'm sorry for hurting you. I'm sorry for being so stupid," Taehyun replied in a mumbled mess.

 

    "Shh, it's okay, babe. Please don't cry. We'll be okay, we'll get through this together. Don't cry, please?" Mino said, kissing the younger boy's head and rubbing his back in soothing circles. "Please, stop crying. Calm down, Taehyun-ah. I would never reject you, I love you too much. Stop crying, okay babe?" Mino continued to hush the sobbing brunet down, kissing his hair over and over gently.

 

    "I'm trying but I can't. I'm just too happy, and scared, and relieved and I love you so much," Taehyun said between sobs, he hugged the older boy as tightly as he can.

 

    "Hey, it's okay. I'm here, we're okay. You're so amazing, Taehyun. And brave. Thank you for telling me all that, I'm really happy," Mino said with a wide smile. He pulled Taehyun closer and sat the boy on his lap, hugging him warmly and soothingly brushed the back of Taehyun's head with his strong hand.

 

Taehyun leaned down and rested his forehead on Mino's broad shoulder. He hiccupped a few times and tried to hold his breath in hopes that his crying would be toned down. "You- you really mean it? You liked it? You don't hate me?" He asked.

 

Mino kissed his neck lightly and smiled, "No, I don't hate you. I was hoping that my heart would be indifferent towards you but it's just impossible. I love you," he replied.

 

    "I love you too. I'm sorry it took me so long. Please don't give up on me no matter how stupid I might get in the future. I don't trust myself but I trust you," Taehyun begged and hugged the older boy in a strong embrace. "I missed you, so much."

 

Mino brought Taehyun's head up and wiped the tears away, holding the boy's face in both his warm hands. "I missed you even more," he said.

 

Taehyun's tears kept on falling but he smiled at the beautiful boy in front of him, "Can I ask you something?" The brunet said, biting his lips worriedly.

 

    "Yeah, sure, anything. What is it?" Mino wiped the tears again and frowned.

 

    "Can I kiss you?" Taehyun asked hesitantly. Mino's eyes widen again at Taehyun's cute request and his own heart clenched.

 

    "Holy shit, yes. Please do, Taehyun. Shit, what do you even mean? Kiss me all you want," Mino said in disbelief.

 

Taehyun cupped Mino's face with his own trembling hands and leaned down, touching their lips softly together. He kissed Mino slowly, once, twice and heard the older boy gave out a soft groan. "Taehyun," Mino whispered against their touching lips, "Taehyun, I want-,"

 

    "Yeah," Taehyun replied back and leaned down further, he kissed Mino firmly on his lips this time. "Mino, I want you," he said hotly against the other's mouth. Mino bit the brunet's bottom lip lightly and grind up against Taehyun's tenting length. None of them were kidding when they said they had missed each other. Taehyun let out a tiny gasp and his mouth was captured into an aggressive kiss. A kiss they were both used too and loved to share.

 

Taehyun moaned loudly at their stolen breaths and roaming hands. He kissed Mino back with more passion, he missed the intimate feel of their sliding tongues, he missed the tastes of the older boy's mouth, he missed the plush lips connecting against his own. He tilted his head to deepened the kiss further and grind down on the older boy with increasing fervor. He pulled back for a breath and whimpered when Mino started to attack his neck roughly with his teeth.

 

    "Mino," he called out hotly. "Mino, I want to suck you. Please, I want your cock in my mouth," Taehyun begged against Mino's ear and nibbled at the soft earlobe lightly.

 

Mino gasped out loud and hugged the boy closer, "Are you sure? You've never done it before. You don't have to," Mino said as he rubbed their lower regions together distractedly.

 

    "No, I want to. I missed you so much. I want you, I need to taste you so bad. Please Mino," the younger boy said and got off Mino's lap to hurriedly kneel down in front of the older boy.

 

Mino looked down intensely at the younger boy as he spread his toned legs wider. Taehyun saw the bulged on the older boy's pants and felt tingling hot sensation running through his veins from it, pleased to know that he could still turn Mino on even after all the blunder he had made. He brought his face closer and nuzzled against Mino's tenting erection, breathing in deep the scent of heavy musk and massaging the strong thighs with his hands.

 

    "Can I?" Taehyun asked the older boy desperately.

 

    "Yeah, yeah oh god yes," Mino replied back in haste.

 

Taehyun unbuttoned the older boy's school trousers and dragged the zipper down slowly. He pulled the blue briefs down and saw Mino's erection sprung out proudly between the older boy's legs. The veins there were thick and precum gathered at the almost purplish tip. Taehyun had missed the hot appendage, had always found himself being fascinated by the thickness and its look. He holds it with his hand tentatively and kissed the side of it, he rained kisses all over the hot shaft, from the moist tip down to between the heavy balls. Taehyun sucked the side of the length softly and proceed to lapped the entire penis with his tongue, all around the broad shaft, bathing it thoroughly with his saliva.

 

Mino kept both his hands at his sides, he gripped the stool tightly and endured the sensual licks and bites  quietly. Taehyun knew that Mino would not want to hurt or scare him away. The older boy's patience was appreciated but Taehyun wanted to make him go crazy. Taehyun landed the softest of kisses on top of Mino's length and sucked the precum lightly at the tip, hearing Mino groaned helplessly in his seat. Taehyun opened his mouth wide and engulfed as much of Mino's cock into his hot mouth, flattening his tongue and being mindful of his teeth.

 

He heard Mino gave a loud gasp. Taehyun shuddered hotly at the salty taste and the heavy weight of it on his tongue. He bobbed his head eagerly up and down to taste more of it, breathing hard through his nose. He pumped half of the cock hard into his mouth but accidentally went too far and hit the back of his throat. He pulled back quickly and coughed a few times from the roughness.

 

    "Hey, Taehyun, easy," Mino said in a strained voice. He rubbed Taehyun's back to help him calm down, "This is your first time. Don't push yourself."

 

    "But I want to. I want you to feel good," Taehyun said and wiped a tear away from his eyes from coughing too hard.

 

    "You're doing great, babe. Here, let's do it slowly. I'll help," Mino said and stood up. He cradled his large cock in one hand, stroking it up and down using Taehyun's saliva unhurriedly. Taehyun took a calming breath and kneeled back properly in front of the older boy. His eyes glued to the wet length and saw Mino squeezed harder at the upstroke and thumbed over the slit.

 

    "Is that how you like it?" Taehyun asked, looking at the older boy's eyes fluttering shut at his own ministrations.

 

Mino opened his eyes and looked down at the flushed, aroused face looking up at him. "Yeah, I like it slow, but with a lot of hard sucking," he smiled down. A few more strokes and he brought the tip of his length closer to Taehyun's lips, letting the younger boy feel the heat. "Are you ready, Taehyun?"

 

Taehyun nodded his head. Mino spat once into his palm and slicked his cock further, "Open your mouth," he instructed and Taehyun obeyed eagerly.

 

The brunet welcomed the slow push of Mino's cock in his mouth. He closed his eyes and felt his tongue rubbed fully against the underside of the hard length. Mino pushed halfway in slowly and settled himself for awhile, letting the younger boy get used to the feeling of a hot cock in his mouth.

 

    "Don't move, get used to the feeling. Breathe deeply through your nose," Mino said from above. Taehyun kept his eyes closed and did what Mino instructed, slowly calming his fast beating heart down.

 

Mino saw the slow rise and fall of Taehyun's chest and smile. He sighed pleasantly at the feeling of Taehyun's warm mouth enveloping half of his straining cock. He missed Taehyun. He missed the brunet's voice, his smell, his kisses, his touch. He would not even deny of how much he missed having his way with Taehyun who was always so eager for more. He wanted to sex up the brunet so much. Mino smiled at the thought and pulled out his cock slowly from the hot mouth before pushing in just as slowly again. Both of his hands were on Taehyun's head, gently bobbing it in time with his languid thrusts.

 

    "That's right, open your mouth wider. Loosen your jaw more," Mino instructed gently. He pushed in and out smoothly, starting to fuck Taehyun's mouth in shallow motions after a while. Mino's cock was steadily going further and further in every time. "Yeah, you're doing so well. Fuck, Taehyun," Mino moaned and closed his eyes. He rode Taehyun's mouth at a leisured pace, bobbing Taehyun head easily to his relaxed rhythm for a long while. The brunet willingly gave up control of his body and let the older boy fucked his opened mouth freely, loving the foreign tastes of Mino's cock and precum on his tongue.

 

Taehyun looked up and saw Mino's pleasured face, he mewled dreamily at it. He brought one hand down to his own hard length and rubbed it against his pants. Mino looked down and saw what the younger boy was doing, "Are you turned on, babe? From sucking my cock?" He asked, his hips started to thrust more roughly after seeing Taehyun's eagerness.

 

The brunet moaned loudly and began to suck Mino's cock harder in his mouth. Mino groaned and pushed in hard all the way, both hands slamming the brunet's head flat against his hips and grind against Taehyun's face. He pulled out after Taehyun started to choked.

 

    "Again, again," Taehyun's face was red as he begged mindlessly, and Mino complied. He fucked Taehyun's mouth hard, toeing between fast thrusts and deep grinding, surprised at Taehyun's controlled gag reflex. Mino's groans were getting rougher and Taehyun's choked moans louder.

 

The older boy thrusts a few more times and breathed out loudly, "I'm coming, Taehyun. I'm coming, let go okay?" Mino warned but Taehyun mewled loudly in protest and grabbed onto Mino's hips, forcing it to stay still. He pushed his own head forward and swallowed the length fully. Mino grunted as he felt his cock going passed Taehyun's throat. The feeling was too good, the older boy doubled over the brunet and pushed hard against the bruised mouth, cumming straight down Taehyun's throat. Mino's hips stuttered forward twice more and he emptied out his nuts before he pulled out quickly and fell back on the stool, gasping loudly.

 

Taehyun had swallowed everything and coughed harshly a few times. He leaned tiredly against Mino's knee and breathed in big, gulping breaths. He wiped stray tears away from his eyes as he stared at the glistening shaft in front of him and took it again gingerly into his mouth. The brunet sucked gently and swallowed some of the slowly spurting cum. The older boy groaned as Taehyun lapped the entire length and sucked hard one last time at the bulbous head, savoring the hot cum before letting the cock go with a loud gasp. Taehyun laid his head against the older boy's strong thigh again. He tried to calm his pounding heart and building excitement in his lower region unsuccessfully.

 

    "Did- did you liked that?" Taehyun asked with a broken voice, his throat felt so raw.

 

Mino immediately kneeled down too and kissed the brunet hard. Taehyun felt the older boy shivered at the taste of his own essence against the younger boy's tongue. "God, Taehyun, that was-," Mino could not finish his sentence and devoured the brunet's mouth with increased ardor, licking every inch of the hot cavern.

 

Mino hurriedly shrugged Taehyun's jacket off and unbuttoned the brunet's white shirt roughly, he leaned forward and pushed hard against the younger boy's heaving chest. Taehyun obediently lay himself on the floor on his back and watched as Mino dragged the zipper of his pants open and took a hold of his very wet, uncut cock.

 

The brunet opened his legs wider, moaning freely as the older boy sucked and bit on one of his nipples deliciously as his free hand twisted the other nipple eagerly. Mino was sliding his hand up and down in a slow, steady rhythm on Taehyun's cock.

 

    "So... What do you want?" Mino breathed against Taehyun's erect nipple, he quickly licked the other one and sucked on it hard in his mouth twice while Taehyun keened loudly at the pleasant feeling. "Do you want this...?" Taehyun sucked in a breath as the older boy's nail scratched at his folded foreskin around the tip of his cock.

 

    "...My hand? My mouth?" Mino continued, eyelids lowering as he looked at the somewhat dazed brunet below him. He settled his strokes into a pace that seemed to pleased Taehyun as the younger boy began thrusting back up helplessly against his hand. "Or something else?"

 

    "This...this is fine, oh shit, Mino, Mino-"

 

Mino brought his other had around the brunet's back, hugging him close while playing around with Taehyun's nipple. He laid down beside the brunet and covered Taehyun's mouth with his own again, pleasuring the brunet's body with his tongue and his hands until they were both breathless on the floor. Taehyun was grasping Mino's shoulders and back desperately, nails digging and hips humping eagerly around the older boy's hold, letting out soft, strained whimpers. His forehead pressed into the crook of Mino's neck. The older boy took his wicked hand away and slathered the palm with his saliva generously and brought it down again, wrapping it around Taehyun's redden shaft. His hand expertly squeezed the head of Taehyun's tip with its foreskin before tugging it down, constantly trying to pull the foreskin back all the way.

 

When Mino had finally done it, Taehyun's weeping tip popped up and spurted its cum. Release finally came over Taehyun, the brunet gasped and his body jerked fiercely of its own accord, shooting his seed on his trembling stomach before settling in a series of pleasant shudders. Taehyun gave a heavy, sated moan and dropped his hands and head on the tiled floors with unceremonious thunks. He was drained completely out of his energy.

 

    "God... That was... It was," Taehyun mumbled drunkenly, high from the release.

 

    "Yeah, you were amazing too," Mino grinned and laid down beside the younger boy. He was about to reached in his pockets for his wet tissue before he sat up and leaned down instead. He licked at Taehyun's stomach and tasted the younger boy's climax. Taehyun whimpered in protest but Mino eagerly lapped up both the stomach and the limp cock clean before settling back beside the brunet on the floor.

 

He sniggered and kissed the younger boy, letting him tastes himself. They both laid there until the sun goes down, kissing slowly and sensually glide their tongues freely against each other.

 

When it was finally too dark to see in the classroom, Mino stood up and pulled Taehyun up with him. He rearranged his and the younger boy's uniforms properly back and brushed the brunet's bangs behind his ear tenderly. He gazed at the brunet lovingly and smiled, "Thank you, Taehyun. For wanting this again, for being selfish," he said with so much tenderness in his voice. Taehyun eyes began to get misty again, he held his tears back and beamed up beautifully at the older boy.

 

    "You're welcome. I would never let you go, ever again," he replied, hugging the older boy tightly in the dark. Taehyun finally felt at peace, missing and loving the warm, comfortable feeling of being in Mino's strong embrace. He would never take the older boy for granted again. He would shower his kind, gentle boyfriend with love so strong that Song Mino would finally be satisfied with finding love, always.

 

* * *

 

 

The happy couple was almost at the end of the dimly lit hallway when Mino's phone beeped, receiving a new message.

 

_From: Zico_

_Message: Dude do you know where Pyo is? He's not picking up his phone. Tell him to call me asap if you see him. Ciao._

 

Mino raised an eyebrow at the text. Taehyun came up to him and glanced down at the phone in his tanned hand.

 

    "What's up? Who is it?" Taehyun asked in question. Mino just shrugged his shoulders and press call on Pyo's number in his contacts folder.

 

    "Zico-hyung. He wanted to know where Pyo is," Mino said as he listened to the sound of endless ringing on the other side of his call.

 

    "Pyo? Jihoon?" Taehyun asked in confusion before his face slowly morphed into shock. Taehyun whipped his head back and ran down the hallway into the art room at full speed.

 

    "What the- Hey, Taehyun! Where are you-" Mino called out halfway to the disappearing brunet before someone picked up his call.

 

    "H-hello?" Pyo answered his phone hesitantly.

 

    "Yeah, hey dude, just hold on a minute. Taehyun-ah!" Mino called out to the brunet as he jogged down the hallway and stopped at the opened door, the art classroom lights were already turned on. He saw Taehyun made his way towards the club's store room, Mino's brows frowned in confusion, "Taehyun-ah, what's wrong? Did you forget something?"

 

Mino stepped into the classroom as Taehyun pulled the storeroom door opened roughly, a loud shout came from both inside the darkened room and from Mino's phone.

 

    "Gah! Taehyun!"

 

    "Pyo Jihoon!"

 

    "What? Pyo?!"

 

    "Mino!"

 

    "What are you doing here?!"

 

    "He was on a detention to clean up the storeroom!"

 

    "I swear I didn't see anything!"

 

    "Holy shit! Dude, you were here all this time?!"

 

    "This is mortifying. I'm going to die."

 

    "You're going to die? I just heard my best friend screwing his boyfriend like in the pornos! I'm the one that wanted to die!"

 

    "You were listening?!"

 

    "Hell no I wasn't man! I plugged in my earphones and turned the music up as soon as the pretty boy started to moan!"

 

    "I didn't moan!"

 

    "You kind of did, babe. Loudly too. I mean dude, what? Why didn't you say anything?"

 

    "Like hell I would, you were busy fucking his face and he was busy moaning from it. You could have easily choke him or he, biting your cock off accidentally if I came out suddenly!"

 

    "Oh how very thoughtful of you. Seriously, I'm crying in gratitude."

 

    "You better not use this for any of your jerking materials."

 

    "As if I would. I'm not gay like you. And I heard Mino screwed girls a couple of times before. I'm unperturbed by it all."

  

    "Then why is your face so red? And why are you looking everywhere but at Taehyun? Shit, don't tell me... Do you like Taehyun? Dude!"

 

    "No I don't! What the hell man?! He's your boyfriend!"

 

    "That's it I'm leaving. I don't want to see both of your faces anymore."

 

    "You and be both, sis..."

 

    "Wait what? Why me too? Taehyun-ah! Wait!"

 

    "Fucking Mino... Fucking Taehyun... Fucking traitorous hard-on..."

 

* * *

 

 

It was a lovely Sunday as Taehyun breathed in the fresh clean air, closing his eyes and enjoying the gentle warm sun on his skin. He slowly opened his eyes and looked across the field, watching his two favorite boys running towards him while lightly kicking the soccer ball back and forth between them.

 

Both boys came up to him, equally sweaty and with matching grins on their faces. Taehyun stood up from his bench and ruffled his younger brother's wet hair affectionately.

 

    "So, you think you're ready for the school match tomorrow?" Taehyun asked the boy, feeling a tad bit proud at how his little brother had made so much progress in just a year.

 

    "Yeah! Mino-hyung said I totally mastered the inside shot. I improved!" Donghyun exclaimed excitedly, both hands in the air.

 

    "Good job. Now come on, let's get cleaned up, then we'll take you out to that new ice cream place," Taehyun smiled indulgently down at his younger brother. Donghyun's eyes lit up at his words and shoot off into the direction of their home.

 

    "Oh yeah! Ice cream! Come on, I'll race you guys!" He shouted while running in front of them.

 

    "Woah, that's the fastest I've seen him move outside the field," Mino commented from beside the brunet, wiping the sweat off his forehead. Taehyun smiled at the older boy as they both fall into steps together, heading for Taehyun's home.

 

    "Thanks for practicing with him. He was so worried about it last week when he caught the flu, wouldn't stop crying about missing his practice," Taehyun said, looking at his little brother waiting impatiently for them down the road.

 

    "It's nothing. So you're going tomorrow, right? To watch Donghyun's match?" Mino asked the brunet, waving for the little boy to run on back first.

 

    "Yeah. It's just a school match but it's the first time he's on the team. Besides, I wanna see the result of your training. I hope you wouldn't disappoint me," Taehyun smirked at the older boy.

 

    "Have I ever, babe? You will be blown away by his skills," Mino grinned back in satisfaction. Taehyun smiled up at the brunet as he took hold of Mino's hand, fingers intertwining together, their couple rings clicked lightly.

 

    "Well, if you get cleaned up quickly once we're home, I'll give you a treat that is not ice cream and will blow your mind away instead," Taehyun leaned in and whispered into his boyfriend's ears hotly. Mino grinned at Taehyun's suggestion and tightened their hands further.

 

    "Deal."

 

 

 

 

\-- the end --

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you very much everyone! I wanna do this again!  
> It had been a SUPER FUN ride yeehaw ヾ(⌐■_■)ノ  
> I'll be back very soon with a decidedly delicious bonus chapter!
> 
> p.s: Hit me up on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/_AirVice), I can haz friendz please? =,(


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